Feast spoons were often made in sets, matched in size and with similar decorations. The three spoons in the collection of the Burke Museum are probably part of a much larger set. Lieutenant George Emmons collected them at Wrangell. The creature on this spoon was identified by Emmons as a frog. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

The painting on this feast spoon is expertly and elegantly done. The figure fits its somewhat difficult format without any apparent forcing or distortion of elements. Master artists of the Northwest Coast excelled in composition for awkward shapes or on complex, three-dimensional surfaces. This feast spoon is one of three in the collection of the Burke Museum. Lieutenant George Emmons, who collected this spoon, identified the creature on it as an eagle. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

Northern wooden spoons are typically carved from a section of a small tree, using almost the entire cylinder of the wood. The shallow S-profile of the spoon runs through the block in such a way that the center of the tree is visible at two places in the spoon, once in the bowl near the tip and again at the base of the handle. This means that the wood grain at the tip and in the handle lies at an angle to the spoon's surface; when it is carved very thin, as here, the spoon is quite fragile. This spooon is one of three in the collection of the Burke Museum. Lieutenant George Emmons, who collected this spoon, identified the creature on it as a petrel. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

Chief's headdress with a carved frontlet and long train with ermine skins. [CAK 10/02/2010]

Rectangular white paper with three embedded maple leaves.

Rectangular white paper with three embedded maple leaves.

Handmade paper that is a thin, cream-coloured sheet with clover leaves, cilantro-like leaves, flecks of gold and silver foil, and whole butterflies of various colours.

Handmade paper that is a thin, semi-transparent, cream-coloured sheet with darker fibres apparent

Sheet of handmade paper that is cream-coloured sheets with small brown and red maple leaves and flecks of gold and silver foil.

Sheet of handmade paper that is cream-coloured with green bamboo leaves.