HAIDA SPOON

George Terasaki, New York

Steven C. Brown, Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art. George Terasaki, Collector, Seattle, 2006, n.p., pl. 75

A long goat-horn handle and a deeply cupped sheep-horn bowl make up the opposing curves of this spoon. Instead of the more common dark brown or uniformly black horn color, the handle is a variegated medium brown, with spots of light brown evenly distributed through the material. These shades blend quite naturally with the dark amber color of the bowl, which is made of a small section of Dall sheep horn. The goat horn is exquisitely detailed, though the identity of some figures is ambiguous and not readily apparent. Such images are nearly impossible to interpret accurately without inside cultural knowledge. Haida totemic art features a number of mythical beings, such as the sea-bear, or the whale-chasing sea-wolf known as the Wasgo. Others include the Tsaa'maos, an underwater river snag, or the crest emblem known as "cirrus clouds". Such images are depicted with the familiar Northwest Coast vocabulary of zoomorphic sculptural symbols. They are often mistaken for more common terrestrial or aquatic creatures.

The refined and sharply cut bottom figure appears to depict a bear but probably portrays a mythical sea creature. The hind legs extend down the outside of the bowl, while the front half of the lower horn is carved away. The figure’s drawn-up legs straddle the bowl, clutching it between its knees, providing a smooth and interesting juncture of the two pieces. The whale-like tail carved below the rump suggests the depiction of a mythic sea creature. A small whale captured in the mouth further indicates the Wasgo representation. The tall formline enclosing a human face between the Wasgo’s ears probably depicts the dorsal fin.

Holding on above and behind the dorsal fin is a creature that looks like a humanoid bear. Its hind feet show through the ears of the Wasgo, and its forefeet touch together above the dorsal fin. The abbreviated top figure is rather more ambiguous, having features that suggest a whale, a bird, or some other mythic being. It sits between the ears of the previous image with its flippers, wings, or feet extending through them. Small rounded U-shapes are incised into the horn’s tip above its head, which may represent a dorsal fin, ears, or feathers.

Steven C. Brown