Lukwalil (feast dish)

Date1994

Maker Calvin Hunt (Tlasutiwalis) First Nations, Kwakwaka’wakw, Kwagiulth/Nuu-chah-nulth, born 1956

Label TextHeir to the legacy of his grandfather Mungo Martin, Calvin Hunt has forged a well-respected reputation as a carver and ceremonialist in his ancestral village of Fort Rupert. With totem poles, canoes, and masks including full regalia in prominent world museums, Calvin works innovatively within an established tradition. This monster feast dish is modeled after elaborate vessels which would hold delectable feast foods, such as eulachon fish oil, seal meat, cranberries and cinquefoil roots. Kwakwaka’wakw mythology includes supernatural beings whose gifts comprise surpluses of food.

Object number94.63

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Eleven Heads Are Better than One: Sixth Graders Connect with SAM, April 1, 1999 - April 2, 2000

Credit LineMargaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund

MediumWood, paint, opercula shells