Bowl

Description

This hand carved wooden bowl has a flaring oval form, flat bottom, and a single handle formed by a slot cut into a raised section on one side. The bowl most likely had two handles originally, but the missing one broke off and its edge was filed down at some point. Utilitarian household items made from wood are sometimes called treen or treenware, terms which come from the word tree. The hewn construction, cutout handle, and overall shape of this bowl indicate it may have been created by a Native American artist, probably from the Eastern Woodlands region of North America. The striking visual pattern of the grain is due to this bowl being carved from a burl – a knotty, irregular growth which can form on trees. Burl treen was commonplace in pre-colonial and colonial America, used among Native Americans and European settlers alike. Burls were plentiful in North American forests and their naturally round shapes easily lent themselves to the form of a bowl, while the wood’s interlocking grain made burl treen more durable and less subject to splitting than straight grain woodenware.