LAUFER, THE DECORATIVE ART OF THE AMUR TRIBES. 9 



in Figs, i-i i, Plate n, are old pieces from the most remote villages of the Liman, 

 and have long been in use. These spoons are made by special artists, for partic 

 ular use a short time previous to the bear-festival, and are characterized by their 

 elegant and graceful shapes and by their elaborate ornamentation. The ends of 

 the handles are carved into forms which, in most cases, have special reference to 

 the bear-festival. Some present sculptured bear-figures, others figures of sun 

 or moon. Before describing the bands, I will discuss these carvings. 



The handles of the spoons illustrated in Figs. 5 and 9 of this plate were 

 originally surmounted by bear-figures, which, unfortunately, had already been 

 broken off when the specimens were obtained. Fig. i shows a bear in the act 

 of walking, on top of which another bear originally stood, but it is now missing. 

 The handle of Fig. 7 is surmounted by an open-work carving, the main portion 

 of which consists of two bear-cubs side by side. 



In Fig. 6, Plate n, is represented a very realistic scene bearing upon certain 

 events of the feast itself. Near the end of the handle may be seen the image of 

 a standing bear bound around its body with two ropes, which cross each other over 

 the back. This has reference to the first of the ceremonies connected with the 

 festival, when the bear is taken from its cage, tied with ropes, and led to the scene 

 of festivities. The extreme end of the handle consists of a movable link carved out 

 of the same piece of wood as the perforation through which it passes. This link 

 terminates in the figure of a bear-head, which is intended to represent the head 

 of the bear that is shot with bow and arrows at the close of the feast, and 

 exhibited in the house of the host. 



The bowls of the specimens, Figs, i, 5, 7, Plate n, which are adorned with 

 carved figures of bears, are further decorated with svastika-like figures, the 

 central part having the form of a rhombus or lozenge. In the latter two there is 

 a St. Andrew s cross within the lozenge. Each of the two vertical arms of the 

 svastika branches off into two curved tips, while the extremities of the two hori 

 zontal arms bend upward (as in Fig. 7), or one curves upward and the other 

 downward (as in Fig. i), or both point downward (Fig. 5). At the base of the 

 bowl is a primitive representation of the sun, which implies a symbolic meaning 

 connected with that of the svastika and the bear-carvings. On Fig. 9 there is a 

 variation of the svastika, perhaps developed by the insertion of a triskeles in such 

 a way that its arms alternate with those of the svastika. 



On the bowl of Fig. 3, Plate n, we observe the figure of a crescent hooked 

 at one end, while the handle is surmounted by a carved ring, the two incised 

 concentric circles on which represent the sun. The outer circle is set with a row 

 of small triangular figures symbolizing rays. A more primitive representation of 

 the sun is to be seen on specimen Fig. 4, and a crescent surmounts the handle of 

 Fig. 2. 



On Fig. 6, Plate n, we meet with the simplest form of the fillet-ornament, 

 which here runs around in two windings, forming three loops. If we take into 

 consideration the earliest stages in the development of this special ornament, it 



