Minneapolis Institute of Art

Spoon

Bassa artist

Date

20th century

Medium

Wood

Culture

Bassa

Department

Arts of Global Africa

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Bassa are a cultural group related to the better known Dan people who reside along the coastal areas of Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. They typically live in farming villages of about 200 residents and raise staple crops of rice and cassava. As in many traditional African societies, the Bassa and Dan cultures celebrate important religious and social occasions in a communal fashion with rituals, dancing and feasting. The people of the village are responsible for entertaining their guests and providing food for them. Women who have earned a reputation for their unselfish support of these events are often presented with a spoon of this type, known as a most generous woman spoon. The women then use them to serve rice and other grain dishes to people at public festivities. Côte d'Ivoire

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