AMERICAN, POSSIBLY NORTHEASTERN WOODLANDS, LATE 17TH/ EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Exceptional in size and condition, this burlwood bowl was likely used as a feast bowl by Native Americans of the Northeastern woodlands. Burl, a sacred material for Native peoples, is dense, irregular in grain and extremely strong, all of which make it hard to carve. Furthermore, with unusually thin walls and carved out handles, this bowl suggests the hand of a master carver (Trotta-Bono, correspondence, 18 November 2016).