Description:

Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik River region, Iatmul peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A large and fantastical lime container known as a "Bandi Na Iavo" carved from hardwood and bamboo with woven rattan and coconut sennit cords. The hollow bamboo cylindrical body is decorated with incised and burned geometric motifs, with an open end and the opposite end secured to the wood stopper finial via rattan strips woven around the bamboo. The final features an abstract openwork hornbill bird, the eyes inlaid with cowrie shells and twisted cords. Lime is an essential ingredient in betel chewing and the powder was stored in ornate containers such as this for use in ceremonies. Size: 29" L x 4.5" W (73.7 cm x 11.4 cm)

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The Iatmul and other Middle Sepik peoples use betel nut, the fruit of the areca palm, which is chewed with lime made from burnt shells or coral and other substances to produce a mild stimulant effect. Among the Iatmul, the ornate containers and spatulas used respectively to hold and serve the lime had ceremonial as well as practical functions. Ceremonial lime containers were presented to newly initiated boys by their maternal uncles to mark their newly achieved status... To express pride, assertiveness, or anger, Iatmul men rapidly thrust the spatula in and out of the lime container so that the ridges, rubbing against the edges of the hole in the top, produced a harsh grating noise."

Provenance: private San Francisco, California, USA collection, acquired 1970s to 2000s

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#174337

  • Condition: Repair to beak tip and hairline fissures. Stable pressure fissure on bamboo. Fading and chipping to engraved motifs. Some fraying to rattan sennit cords and rattan weavings. Bird stopper finial has great patina.

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January 29, 2023 9:00 AM MST
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