Ashanti Wood Fetish Spoon

Broad spoon bowl on a stem that flares into a bell-shaped foot.

This carved wooden fetish spoon from the Ashanti is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved wood. The Ashanti are an Akan people of central Ghana, whose art includes gold weights, stools, carved staffs and many forms of decorated wooden objects. Large, round, shallow bowl tapers into a narrow neck with a small notch, then flares to a wide conical base with incised rings. Smooth gray-brown surface with soft dark patina, set on a small gray plate. It is 4.75 inches wide, 3.25 deep and 13 high.

Handsome shape, if a little oversized for soup.