A fine, small oval priestly KAVA Bowl. The priest used this type of flat dish to drink kava from prior to going into trance and communicate with the ancestors. The underside is carved with a very fine double lug from which the bowl would have been suspended on the wall by a sennit loop when not in use. Fiji Islands, Polynesia. 40 x 19.2 x 6 cm. Wood. 18th/19th century. Ex coll. : Pitt Rivers Museum, Farnham, acquired from the Wharton Collection in March 1899 as indicated by the painted label.

There are two early paper labels indicating for the first “N° 1773 Solomon Island Food Dish, 3.“ and for the second “223/8“.

Ref. : Clunie, Fergus: YALO i VITI. Fiji Museum, Suva. 1986. Ewins, Rod: FIJIAN ARTIFACTS, TASMANIAN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY COLLECTION. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart. 1982.