Haida, Feast Dish, ca. 1880-1900, black argillite and abalone, 16.75 x 6 x 2 in, 42.9 x 15.1 x 4.6 cm. Provenance: private collection, British Columbia. ... Argillite dishes and bowls were produced for trade as early as the 1830s. Argillite dishes were too fragile to have actually been used as functional items themselves. As items of trade, most early dishes incorporated European designs or objects in their decoration. The 1880s saw a revival of Haida designs. Some argillite carvers continued to carve European-style plates and platters but with Haida motifs; in this case the artist went a step further and carved an argillite version of a traditional wooden feast dish.--- CATEGORIES: First Nations, Native, Indian, Northwest Coast