A Northwest Coast feast dish
Of elongated rectangular form with opposing formline faces carved at each end, the border with inset opercula shells.
length 35 1/2in, width 10in
Footnotes:
Provenance
ex-Heye Foundation, with inscribed collection number verso: 8/1836 (lower number struck through) 820;
ex-Andy Warhol; sold at Sotheby's, New York, April 28, 1988, The Andy Warhol Collection of American Indian Art, lot 2581, described as a Tlingit Wood Food Tray;
Jack Curtright, Tacoma, WA, acquired from the above;
Gene Zema, Seattle, WA, acquired from the above March 27, 1995

Gene K. Zema

Born on September 2, 1926, Gene grew up on a farm in California in the Sacramento Valley. He came to the University of Washington as an engineering student in 1944. He then served in the Navy during World War II, and upon returning to the University of Washington, changed programs and joined the Department of Architecture. He graduated from UW in 1950 with his Bachelor of Architecture degree.

While practicing as an architect, Gene increasingly became interested in regional indigenous art from the Pacific Northwest. He collected many Northwest coastal indigenous pieces and created large murals with Kwakiutl motifs. This interest was one he would pursue the rest of his life, incorporating many of these elements into his projects. Among his many architectural creations was the mid-50s home designed for distinguished scholar and authority on indigenous Pacific Northwest Coast art, Bill Holm. Partial payment for Gene's architectural fee was a totem pole, carved by Holm. In fact, Gene incorporated much of the Seattle area and Pacific Northwest into all aspects of his designs and builds, a monument to the area, history, and people of the region. His collection of Northwest Native American art remained one of his proudest accomplishments.

With oily residue on the bowl's interior, including two sections on one interior wall, the larger about 9in long. Scattered scuffs, scratches and nicks commensurate with age. More scratches to interior commensurate with use. Approximately a third of the shell inlay lost; most of the remaining shells with chips, losses and/or cracks.