Bent-corner dish

Unrecorded Tlingit or Tsimshian artist Native American or First Nations

ca. 1750–1800

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Northwest Coast food receptacles often held fish, whale, or seal oil that served as a condiment for foods such as dried salmon and halibut. This dish’s broad formlines, the curving incised and gouged lines in different weights that create figural elements, suggest an eighteenth-century date. The four sides of the vessel seem to bulge out gracefully, as if from the pressure of the wealth of food contained within. The remarkably skilled carving transforms a simple vessel into a symbol of abundance.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Bent-corner dish
Artist: Unrecorded Tlingit or Tsimshian artist
Date: ca. 1750–1800
Geography: United States or Canada, Southeast Alaska or British Columbia
Culture: Tlingit or Tsimshian
Medium: Yew, red cedar, fiber cordage
Dimensions: H. 13 × W. 9 × D. 13 in. (33 × 22.9 × 33 cm)
Classification: Wood-Containers
Credit Line: Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing