CHUGACH SPOON

Laurence Tyler, Seattle

George Terasaki, New York, acquired from the above in 1969

Steven C. Brown, Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art. George Terasaki, Collector, Seattle, 2006, n.p., pl. 76

The Chugach or Alutiiq people lived in proximity to the great coastal mountain ranges of the Prince William Sound area and made use of an abundant population of mountain goats as food, for hides, and for their beautiful horns. These tapered black horns were carved, boiled, and opened out into graceful spoon shapes which were then decorated with symbolic figures. The refined and carefully executed work on this spoon suggests an early origin. Influenced by trade and other contact with Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska, the Chugach adopted certain aspects of Tlingit design into their carvings, basketry, and horn work. Tlingit-made goat horn spoons have in fact been collected from Chugach sources. The overall shape of Chugach spoons differs significantly from Tlingit and other typical Northwest Coast examples. The bowl of a Chugach spoon is less upturned at the tip, and the handle maintains the natural shape of the horn. The bowl remains in an arc similar to the horn’s original curve, and it features a flat, raised ridge that extends halfway down the back. In contrast, Tlingit spoons take on a strong, upturned curve during the boiling and reforming process, the bowls are generally left smooth on the back surface, and the handles are formed with a reverse curve that opposes the arc of the bowl. Unique to Chugach spoons, the ears of the main sculptural heads are bent slightly outward from the handle.

This and other Chugach spoons show a relationship to neighboring design styles in the use of bead and cut bird-bone inlays, which echo the repeating circle-dot design frequently seen in Eskimo carvings. The U-shapes incised upon the cheeks, eyebrows, and ears of the main head are directly related to those of the Northwest Coast tradition. The head at the base of the handle and the otterlike figure above it resemble the totemic style of the Tlingit, though the actual structural details of the face are handled in distinctly Chugach style. The marine crossroads of Prince William Sound have found expression in the original forms and outside design influences that are combined in the artworks of the Chugach region.

Steven C. Brown