Serving Bowl (Komogi)
ClassificationsFurnishings-Serviceware-bowls
Culture
Muniwara-Urimo
Date19th to 20th Century
Collection SiteEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumClay and white pigment
Dimensions6 5/8 × 13 1/8 × 14 1/4 in. (16.8 × 33.3 × 36.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Michael Hamson
Object number2018.7.17
DescriptionWhile the Muniwara-Urimo made pottery in the past, it is either declining or a defunct industry entirely. At its height, the Muniwara-Urimo has two primary types of vessels, those for rituals and those for domestic use. A komogi was a decorated serving bowl that would have been used individually as an eating dish, in ceremonies and cult activities. Only a select few komogi would be housed inside the haus tambaran, a men’s only ceremonial house. Women would make the cooking pots while the men were designated to decorate the vessels. Only the male elders of the villages can remember the origin stories behind the decorative techniques and meanings of the designs since there was been such little potting activity in the last decade. These vessels would have been traded directly as commodities to villages who traditionally did not produce their own pottery, often times ending up with a vast array of Muniwara-Urimo pieces.On View
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