Tribal Spoon – Wood – Ivory Coast

Beautiful large Dan spoon from Ivory Coast. It`s a ceremonial instrument of those women who have a particular social position in Dan society. Its name is wakemia and it’s used during special festivities, as a symbol of distinction and virtue of the most capable women. The social value of the object explains the remarkable artistic quality. The spoons are known by many names, including wake mia or wunkirmian, which roughly translates as “spoon associated with feasts.” The spoons range in size from a foot to two feet and have one or (rarely) two parallel bowls. The handle of the spoon is always decorated and often is related to the human form and often feature a pair of legs like this example.
(Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art) Large spoon, total length: 80 cm!

Provenance: Justin Barthels, former gallery owner Maastricht (NL).