Tlingit Bent-Corner Bowl

The Tlingit Bent-Corner Bowl is a distinctive form of Indigenous Northwest Coast art, traditionally crafted by Tlingit artisans of southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia. These utilitarian and ceremonial objects were created by steaming and bending a single piece of wood, typically alder, cedar, or maple, into a vessel with precisely joined corners, often elaborately carved or painted with clan crests and formline designs. Historically exchanged at potlatches and used to serve food at ceremonies, these bowls appear regularly at major auction houses including Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams, commanding significant prices as masterworks of Indigenous craftsmanship.