Feast Bowl depicting Bear with Raven Ladle by Gary Leon, Chehalis

Feast Bowl depicting Bear with Raven Ladle, 2005 by Gary Leon, Chehalis NationRed cedar, pigmentBowl: 5” high x 16.5” long x 10.25” wideLadle: 4.75” high x 14” long x 3” wideFeasting was different than everyday eating and often involved the use of dishes, ladles, and spoons to support notions of rank and identity. Simple horn and wooden spoons were used on a daily basis, but elaborately decorated utensils, bowls, and dishes were reserved for special occasions. Such celebratory meals would take place often when there was a seasonal surplus of salmon or a successful hunt. The food served would vary seasonally and include dried salmon or some other fish, seal meat, seaweed or herring spawn, berries, beaten soapberries, and frequently, fish or seal oil, in which food was dipped. Northwest Coast feasting bowls were made in a variety of forms and sizes. They were typically constructed out of mountain goat horn or wood, and were made in sizes ranging from tiny individual containers for candle