Indian Oil Spoon with Naga Handle

The ladle is mostly handle, and the handle is mostly twist and taper.

This brass oil spoon with a naga handle is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. The naga is a serpent figure found in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions, often associated with water, protection and fertility. Overall, a deep round bowl joins a long, flat sided handle that narrows toward the middle and swells again at the tip. Two petal like lobes form the end. The surface is smooth and deeply brown, with a worn and dented bowl rim. It is 1 inches wide, 0.75 deep and 6.25 high.

Long on reach, short on fuss.