ladle, spoon

ladle, spoon

ladle, spoon

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Introduction

This relative is an Oneida (Hodenosaunee) wooden ladle carved from maple with a short, curved handle. It was collected in Ontario, Canada. 

This ladle was purchased from Alan Farna (Oneida) of Ontario by Wild West Show owner E. W. Lenders, who then sold the spoon to collector Charles Hallowell Stephens on February 23rd, 1909. His whole collection was left to his son D. Owen Stephens, whose wife sold it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1945, where this relative currently resides.

Name of Maker(s): Maker Unrecorded
Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee Oneida
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

The collector identified it was Oneida.

Place of Origin: Ontario, CAN
Date Made or Date Range: Before 1909
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

Wood.

Techniques or Format

It is carved from a piece of maple wood. The short handle is curved.

Additional Context

On Stephen's catalogue card, he calls it "A do gwatsha."

Dimensions: 16 × 8 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

It was purchased from Alan Farna in 1909.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 45-15-1315
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/291139
Collection at Current Location: Charles H. Stephens Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1945
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Purchased from Mrs. Owen Stephens, 1945.
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1909
Collection Narratives and Histories

Charles Hallowell Stephens acquired the spoon on February 23, 1909, from E. W. Lenders (a German painter and collector who moved to Philadelphia and was also the manager of the Princess Winona Wild West Show) who seems to have acquired them from Alan Farna (Oneida) of Ontario Canada. Stephens's whole collection was left to his son D. Owen Stephens, whose wife sold it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1945, where this relative currently resides.

Source for Provenance information

Museum documentation.

GKS Reference Number: 27108
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Ladle, spoon. GRASAC ID 27108. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 45-15-1315.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a GRASAC study visit, participants included: David Penney, Ruth Phillips, Stacey Loyer, and William Wierzbowski, on December 3, 2009.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on March 29, 2025.

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