Bowl (Feast bowl)

Description

This wide bowl carved from an elm tree burl was given extra sculptural meaning with the feet and head of an animal with a projecting snout, possibly a bear, doubling as handles on the rim. The animal's features are emphasized with small, rounded brass tacks. Generous serving bowls and feast bowls decorated with animals may refer to a family, clan, or a particular use for the Native American culture producing it. When this bowl was acquired by the museum's founder, it was thought to be made by a Mohawk craftsman in New York, but it was likely made in the American or Canadian Great Lakes region, possibly by a member of the Odawa/Ottawa people. It was acquired specifically to represent Native American woodwork and is displayed with treen ware from other culture groups.