Collections: Arts of the Americas: Bent-corner Box with Killer Whale Design

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Bent-corner Box with Killer Whale Design

• Culture: Haida, Native American
• Medium: Sea snail opercula, plant fiber, cotton twine, yellow cedar (?), pine (?)
• Place Collected: Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada
• Dates: late 19th-early 20th century
• Dimensions: 8 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 17 in. (21.6 x 49.5 x 43.2cm)
• Collections: Arts of the Americas
• Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, 5th floor
• Accession Number: 05.588.7312
• Credit Line: Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund
• Image: Overall, 05.588.7312_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Haida (Native American). Bent-corner Box with Killer Whale Design, late 19th-early 20th century. Sea snail opercula, plant fiber, cotton twine, yellow cedar (?), pine (?), 8 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 17 in. (21.6 x 49.5 x 43.2cm). Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7312 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7312_bw.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: This bentwood corner bowl was made by the distinctly Northwest Coast process called kerfing. A single plank of wood is first trimmed, notched , steamed and bent. The bottom and sides were then pegged or sewn together with tree root. Finally the bowl is decorated with carving, painting and adding operculum shell trims. The large bowl would have been used for dried food. The abstracted design on the sides represents a killer whale.