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Source Description
Fine wooden bowls were often used during feasts in the Northeastern Woodlands. The heads on the rims may represent spirit beings, perhaps the owner’s guardian spirits, acquired through dreams or visions—thought to be the ultimate sources of truth. The medium may also be profoundly meaningful. A Great Lakes (Meskwaki) Native said in 1911, “The murmur of the trees when the wind passes through is but the voices of our grandparents. Often a whole forest hums with talk . . . we often hear the sound of their laughter and the sound of their lamentations.”
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
151785
label
Bowl
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
151785
contentType
object
title
Bowl
description
Fine wooden bowls were often used during feasts in the Northeastern Woodlands. The heads on the rims may represent spirit beings, perhaps the owner’s guardian spirits, acquired through dreams or visions—thought to be the ultimate sources of truth. The medium may also be profoundly meaningful. A Great Lakes (Meskwaki) Native said in 1911, “The murmur of the trees when the wind passes through is but the voices of our grandparents. Often a whole forest hums with talk . . . we often hear the sound of their laughter and the sound of their lamentations.”
date
early 1800s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60740963
genreSpecific
Wood
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 9 x 20 x 14.6 cm (3 9/16 x 7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in.)
cul
Native North America, Northeastern Woodlands
accession
1984.12
Source extras
tec
wood
tombstone
Bowl, early 1800s. Native North America, Northeastern Woodlands. Wood; overall: 9 x 20 x 14.6 cm (3 9/16 x 7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1984.12
collection
AA - Native North America
citations
citation
Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1984.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 2 (April 1985): 163–207.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 205, no. 149
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:50:26.664000
sourceId
151785
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Native North America
med
wood
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7fa00a68600ec1ad