Souvenir spoon...

Souvenir spoon, probably Tlingit, but what's the critter? An otter?

~Cheryl

 

I'd say bear....& I'd say the artist could use a lesson or two !

 

Ahhh, thought bear might be a possibility (actually have several different bear spoons) - whatever he is, he looks cheerful and makes me smile...

~Cheryl

 

Otter, I think. NA carvings of them show them on their backs, sometimes with a pup or shell.

 

Happy little critter. I'd be thinking otter too based on the position of the animal.

 

For some unknowable reason, it made me think of the Rockman, from The Point.

 

Another vote for otter. The crescent shape on it's tummy could be a shell, which is probably why it looks so happy.

Now the others want a shell too:


About the quality of carving, I was told by a Haida carver that when they learned to carve, they would start on silver, because it was easiest to carve and a good way to learn which shapes and symbols go with which animal, etc. Later they would be allowed to carve wood.

 

Possum with babies?

 

I wood take that statement with a grain of salt.......
Native metal carving tools were harder to come by than wood carving tools.....
& require a different skill set.

 

Too bright and reflections to see how it was "carved",but it looks chased and would only require a modified nail/screw driver and a hammer.Wood is easier to carve and more forgiving with errors than metal.

 

& cheaper.....and easier to come by !!

 

Q&D photo of Zuni otter in antler.

 

OK...otter.....

 

I'd expand the thought, mentioning that the idea that poor-quality carving may indicate a beginning carver is kind of a myth....not saying that this is poor-quality, but it is not great either.
Most often, the quality of carving reflects the kind of market that an item was made for. Lesser quality items were made rapidly, for sale at a cheap price; or by carvers who were not in touch with traditional usages.
Better carvers would take the time to make items that correctly reflect traditional cultural usages.

for example, a little better:



or

 

The above spoons appear to be engraved and not "carved".

 

Yes, sort of; I was thinking of the artists in general, many of whom carve in wood and also make silver items. Northwest Coast Native work in silver uses a number of techniques, including engraving, repousse, carving, where areas are actually removed with shallow knife-cuts, and something more akin to scratching than actual engraving.

 

It's engraved rather than chased, with a little repousse nose. A fairly small piece at about 4½" long, it has a curved stem and an upturned bowl, so believe it was most likely intended as a mayonnaise or sauce ladle. He's really quite charming and pretty much of the quality I'd expect from an inexpensive, locally-made souvenir item...

~Cheryl

 

I do like the nose.

 

I thought perhaps otter because of his expression, the long body and short paws, and also thought it might be a shell on his belly, with perhaps the slender stem as his tail - but really have no problem with him being a bear either.

Finally dug out some old clips from my files on Tlingit silversmith Rudolph Walton, the first from an 1895 Presbyterian missionary publication, mentioning how his spoons were made, and the second from a 1905 article on Alaska, mentioning his new store. The link is to a Rudolph Walton spoon with double bear heads at the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka...





http://cdm1.library.uaf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg31/id/1/rec/2

Don't really collect NA silver, but do like it and have a few pieces, so glad to add this spoon - the one below is a large heavy Navajo teaspoon with a wonderful owl at the top and a Yei spirit in the bowl, all of the design was stamped, even the fine feather details (sorry, crummy old pic):


~Cheryl

 

Otter it is....it's easiest to explain .