Oceania, Fiji Islands, ca. mid-20th century CE. A lovely carved wooden bowl supported by four tubular legs, and featuring an abstract zoomorphic head with perforated eyes and a pointy snout extending from the front of the rim. The bowl has a nice deep basin. Large bowls of this kind (known as tanoa or kumete ni yaqona), cut from a single wooden block, were used for the mixing of the psychoactive beverage called kava (kava or kava kava in Tongan; yaqona, pronounced yanggona, in Fijian), made from the stems and roots of the pepper bush Piper methysticum, mixed with water. By the 18th century, the Tongan practice of kava preparation - a chief ritual - spread to eastern and coastal Fiji. Size: 14.5" W x 5.75" H (36.8 cm x 14.6 cm)
Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection
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#146487
Condition
Intact and near choice.