Papua New Guinean Feast / Serving Bowl

A long, low oval bowl with a weathered brown hide and a small incised mark near the center

This feast / serving bowl is from Tami Islands, Papua New Guinea, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved wood & applied pigment. Papua New Guinea has over 700 languages, trade was the main cohesive activity among separate villages, and Tami wood carving remained unsurpassed for hundreds of years until the 1920s. A long, shallow oval vessel with pointed ends and a rough, reddish brown surface. A small incised motif sits at the middle of one side, and faint red marks appear near the left. The rim has small nicks. It is 39.7 inches wide, 17.9 deep and 6.5 high.

Worn smooth by use, and entirely at ease with it.