Bowl, probably Tsimshian

Square bowls of this type appear to have primarily been made on the mainland of British Columbia, among the speakers of the Nisga'a and Tsimshian language family. The geometric incisings at the side corners are a skeuomorphic reference to folded birchbark containers of similar form in the mainland interior. Bowls of this kind were used to serve foods such as dried fish, or the whipped berries known as sopalallie, or soapberries, for the copious white foam they become when a small volume of berries is vigorously whipped with a similar amount of water.

The formline patterns painted and relief carved on the ends follow a general broad face representation. Specific crest images are not to be found on bowls of this type, which are made, gifted, and traded around to various owners, regardless of clan affiliations. The large ovoid eyes were painted red, like the secondary elements within other parts of the design. Eyes are nearly always black, even if the primary formlines are red. Here that tradition is foregone in order to better distribute red color across the design field. Red turban snail opercula are inlaid into the wide rim of the bowl, an enhancement that speaks to the high status of the bowl’s owners, able to assemble and utilize these rare bits of carbonaceous shell that are only found in isolated locations along the outer shores of the Northwest Coast.

Steven C. Brown

March 2021