Indian Oil Spoon with Naga Handle

A slim ladle with a handle that widens like a fan at the end.

This brass oil spoon with a naga handle is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. South Indian metalworkers have long cast brass ritual implements, and a handle shaped as a serpent shows how function and symbolism are often combined. Closely, the small bowl is shallow and round, set on a collar of carved ridges and rings. The shaft stays narrow before opening into a flat, curved paddle with a tiny hook at the tip. The finish is greenish brown and softly worn. It is 1 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 5.75 high.

Delicate reach and a very polite tip.