Spoon

Item number A1402 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Spoon with oval bowl and short thin handle made from mountain goat horn. The tip of the horn forms the handle, while the wider portion has been spread to create the bowl of the spoon. The tip of the handle curves downwards. The spoon is dark brown in colour except for the end of the oval bowl which is amber.

History Of Use

Along the Northwest Coast peoples, in general, undecorated spoons of wood and horn were used in everyday life, while more elaborately carved versions were used on special occassions. Horn spoons were often passed down in families as heirlooms; such spoons are generally darker in colour than those of recent manufacture. The bowls of these spoons are sometimes too large to place in the mouth, in which case food would be sipped from the sides or the end.

Cultural Context

household utensil; ceremonial

Specific Techniques

Bill Holm noted: "The horn spoon whether from the massive, spiral horn of the mountain sheep or the slim, black, dagger-like horn of the mountain goat, is cut from the partially hollow curved material and brought to its final form by spreading the bowl and bending the handle (1987:90)." Philip Drucker noted: "horn of both mountain sheep and mountain goat was used for various purposes, after being softened in boiling water to permit shaping and molding (1955:51)."