Indian Oil Spoon with Spear Top

Reddish ladle with a coiled waist and a dark, shadowy bowl.

This brass oil spoon with a spear top is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. Oil spoons and ladles are generally used to pour oil into lamps, a task that was part of daily household and temple practice in India. Small round bowl at the end of a handle with spiraled twisting near the base and carved bands higher up. The metal has a coppery red tone with greenish bits in the crevices. The tip is cone-shaped and sharp. It is 1 inches wide, 0.75 deep and 6.25 high.

A twist here, a twist there, and a clear sense of purpose.