Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bowl

Papua New Guinea (Tami Islands)

Date

20th century

Medium

Wood

Department

Arts of Oceania

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tami Island is famous for the wooden food bowls carved by highly skilled men. In the past, the bowls were traded extensively to surrounding regions and were an important part of the island's economy. Tami food bowls are fashioned into oblong canoe shapes from hard wood and were traditionally carved using stone, bone, or ivory tools. Lime is used to fill in the carved out areas of the decoration and the bowls may have once been painted with a red earth pigment. Bowls such as this one are probably used in ceremonial and feast contexts. While the meaning of the animal iconography on some Tami bowls is unknown, it is certain that the human faces and figures represent spirits associated with families, clans, or villages. Papua New Guinea, Oceania

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