Lot 84B
Oceania, Fiji Islands, Viti Levu Island, ca. 19th century CE. A very rare and lovely bowl, carved from beautiful ironwood in the form of a turtle supported by four tapering tubular legs and featuring five projecting tabs which double as handles. A small knob-shaped head protrudes from the front of the rim that, aside from a sharply-crested face, does not present any discernible facial features. The body of the animal has a concave 'shell' which doubles as the basin of the bowl, and the periphery of the surrounding rim is incised with a thin decorative striation. Large bowls of this kind (known as darivonu, tanoa or kumete ni yaqona), cut from a single 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: 31.25" L x 21.8" W x 7.25" H (79.4 cm x 55.4 cm x 18.4 cm).
For a stylistically-similar example without legs, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1979.206.1579: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/313798
Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection; ex-Mark Blackburn collection, Hawaii, USA; ex-private English collection
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#145995
- Condition: Minor abrasions and nicks to body, head, handles, and legs, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits within some recessed areas, and fabulous patina throughout.
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