North Pacific, Hawaiian Islands, ca. 19th century CE. A finely preserved poi pounder of a bell-shaped form carved from gray-brown stone. The hefty tool is comprised of a rounded pounding face, a broad body with a carinated lower edge, a gently tapered handle, and a hemispherical knob tip that facilitated the movement and handling of the tool. The handle and top of the knob exhibit a pleasing smoothness that suggests this tool was used to prepare countless dishes of pulverized taro root known as poi. Size: 4.9" W x 7.875" H (12.4 cm x 20 cm)
Poi pounders, alongside adzes, were the most important stone tools in Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands (Europeans introduced steel weapons). They are used for pounding cooked taro root into poi, a staple of the islander diet. Taro root was steamed in an earthen oven, peeled using shells, and placed onto a slab of wood to be pounded. The pounded results were blended with water into a highly nutritious paste. Traditional calabash bowls were used as containers to hold poi mixtures, and traveling royalty were accompanied by their own poi maker, with his or her own poi-making implements like this one.
Provenance: ex-Brant Mackley Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, prior to 2000
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#167038
Condition
Small chips to pounding face, carinated edge, and upper knob, otherwise intact and excellent. Great smoothness on handle and upper knob commensurate with use. Old inventory label along one side of upper body.