Bowl

ClassificationsFurnishings-Serviceware-bowls

Culture Abelam

Date20th Century

Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

MediumCoconut, paint, and kaolin

Dimensions6 × 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (15.2 × 14 × 8.9 cm)

Credit LineGift of Herbert & Nancy Baker

Object numberF75.5.4

DescriptionThis object is a soup bowl carved from a coconut shell, made by the Abelam people residing in Papua New Guinea's East Sepik Province. Coconut bowls such as this were typically carved with incredibly intricate patterns. Abelam men used them to drink a special white yam soup served at traditional ceremonies. As such, they were considered prestige objects as well as utilitarian. Typically, these coconut cups have a classic "nggwal" ancestral spirit face carved into the outside of the bowl.

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