Crafted by the renowned Makah carver Young Doctor, this decorative bowl exemplifies the precision and artistry that established his reputation as a master canoe builder. Anthropologist James G. McCurdy highlights Young Doctor’s unparalleled skill in his unfinished manuscript Indian Days at Neah Bay (ed. Gordon Newell, 1961), noting that “Canoe making [...] was the finest of Young Doctor’s skills” (p. 55). This connection is evident in the bowl’s form, which mirrors the elegance of his celebrated canoes. The symmetrical design, with stylized eagle heads at either end, recalls what McCurdy describes as “the true secret of the beauty of Young Doctor’s finished canoes [that is] the curved and ornately carved projections at the bow and stern…” (p. 57).

Further enhancing the bowl’s visual appeal are the pill-shaped, vertically compressed ovoids—signature motifs in Young Doctor’s two-dimensional works, including the panel he created for the National Museum of Natural History (ID # E328606-0). These ovoids, paired with abstracted forms representing eagle plumage around the neck, evoke a sense of refined craftsmanship and cultural resonance, cementing the bowl as a testament to Young Doctor’s innovative legacy.

1. See Gordon Newell, ed., Indian Days at Neah Bay: From an Unfinished Manuscript by the Late James G. McCurdy (Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, 1961), p. 57.

References: Gordon Newell, ed., Indian Days at Neah Bay: from an Unfinished Manuscript by the late James G. McCurdy, (Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing Company, 1961 for additional information on the artist’s canoe and art making practices. See the unpaginated front matter for an image of the artist creating a canoe. Through his connection with the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle, Washington, Young Doctor's works were distributed worldwide and are now held in some of the most prestigious public collections. For works with similarly stylized works by the artist, see a presently unidentified “dish” in Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, Object ID 491.G.1454 and “Painting on Wood” in National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, id. no., E328606-0.