Mortar
ClassificationsTools and Equipment-mortars
Cultureprobably
Ifugao
Dateearly 20th Century
Made AtPhilippines, Asia
MediumWood
Dimensions13 × 15 1/2 × 13 in. (33 × 39.4 × 33 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2021.7.15
DescriptionThis object is a wooden mortar from the northern island of Luzon in the Phillippines. Mortars are common to cultures across the world due to their efficiency at pulverizing foods, pigments, and more. The multitude of minimlistically carved human faces carved on this mortar are a common feature in the Philippine highlands. The various cultures in the area believe in a complex and extensive world of spirits who can inhabit natural objects or phenomena and affect the outcomes of everyday activities such as food production. As such, anthropomorphic designs representing supernatual beings can be found adorning items made for ritual use as well as everyday objects such as this one.On View
Not on viewCollections
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
early to mid 20th Century
20th Century
20th Century
20th Century
date unknown
20th Century
20th Century
early 20th Century