Indian Oil Spoon with Spear Top

Another upright ladle on a black plinth, with a bowl held in openwork wings.

This brass oil spoon with a spear top is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. Karnataka has a long tradition of brass and bronze work, and metal vessels and tools were made for household and temple use across southern India. Tall slim handle capped with a long pointed finial and a small collar, ending below in a cut-out leaf-shaped fitting around the bowl. The bowl is round and shallow. The yellowish bronze is smooth and softly polished. It is 1 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 6.5 high.

Delicate lacework, if one squints at the metal.