Exceptional Lime Container, Nendo Island, Solomon Islands
duka
gourd, wood, fiber, shell, turmeric, black pigments
height 12 3/4in (33.4cm)
The finely carved male seated figure with muscular chest and separated arms with the hands resting on the stool, seated on a circular base and wearing a prominent headdress (abe), the head with large ears, the eyes with inlaid shells and wearing a shell nose ornament, a bonita carved on his back, strands of fiber attached to wrist and ankle with shell and beads; fine dark-brown patina with ritual patination; the gourd container with lime residue.
PROVENANCE
Eastern European Collection, reportedly collected on Utupua Island between 1948-1953 from a Santa Cruz man laboring on a copra plantation
Scott Duggleby, Texas
Ed and Mina Smith Collection, California
PUBLISHED & EXHIBITED
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, Oceanic Art: A Celebration Of Form, January 2009-January 2010, fig. 60
According to Ellis (ibid: p. 78), "Gourds and bamboo vessels used to store lime are frequently decorated with incised and fire-engraved geometric designs. The gourd container from the Smith collection (cat. 60), which would have held water or lime, is surmounted by a wooden stopper that depicts a seated male figure. Sculpture from Nendo Island, politically part of the Solomon Islands, is distinctive, and only a limited number of works have been documented. The conical extension at the back of the head represents a man's hairstyle. Called abe, its construction and shape was a symbol of wealth and high social status, and for older men, it also served the practical purpose of covering bald spots. All Nendo figure refer to deities or supernatural beings." (Ellis: 2009, pp. 78-85)
