Indian Oil Spoon with Deity Figure

Long thin handle ends in a small hand, and a tiny bowl sits at the other end.

This oil spoon with deity figure is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is brass. Small ritual spoons are used in Hindu worship to pour oil, ghee or water onto a lamp or offering, and some have handles shaped as figures. Slim rod-like spoon with a shallow round bowl at one end, decorated at the joint with a small animal form. The far end bears a small fisted shape. The metal is dark olive-brown with a mellow, worn surface. It is 1.5 inches wide, 0.75 deep and 6.5 high.

All reach and very little scoop.