Dan Ritual "Spoon for a Generous Woman", Ivory Coast #812

Dan Ritual "Spoon for a Generous Woman", Ivory Coast #812Dan Ritual "Spoon for a Generous Woman", Ivory Coast #812 A Dan ceremonial spoon with anthropomorphic features, called also Wakemia or Wunkirmian, Ivory Coast Liberia, wedge shaped feet with grooved toes, the ankles encircled by rings, the sturdy legs slightly spread apart and bent, the thighs with leaf shaped grooved decoration, protruding, almost disks like knees, accentuated genitals, prominent buttocks, at the center of the ladle, a fluted narrow

• Dan Ritual "Spoon for a Generous Woman", Ivory Coast #812
• A Dan ceremonial spoon with anthropomorphic features, called also Wakemia or Wunkirmian, Ivory Coast/Liberia, wedge-shaped feet with grooved toes, the ankles encircled by rings, the sturdy legs slightly spread apart and bent, the thighs with leaf-shaped grooved decoration, protruding, almost disks-like knees, accentuated genitals, prominent buttocks, at the center of the ladle, a fluted narrow form connects handle to bowl, the bowl covered with a striated and linear grooved decoration.
• An anthropomorphic Dan Spoon, standing on strongly partitioned legs, a long neck decorated with feather- or leaf-like carvings; blackened patina with traces of long reverent use.
• This Ceremonial Feast Spoon, formed as an abstract female figure, is a symbol of High Ranking Women's Generosity and Talents and her Nurturing Nature (Fischer and Himmelheber in Falgayrettes-Leveau, Cuillers Sculptures, 1991, p. 73-88).
• Artists in Dan Communities of the Guinea Coast have mastered the art of carving these impressive, large wooden spoons that are...a pair of legs like this example.
• Among the Dan, the Owner of the Spoon is called "wa ke de", "at Village Feasts. It is a title of great distinction that creates a profound visual analogy that honors the Hostess, and Women in general, as a source of food and life.
• "These spoons are connected with the most remarkable Women in a clan or Village...a Successor from among the Married Women of the Clan." William Fagg, African Tribal Images, Cleveland, 1968, fig. 68
• Lit.: The Arts of the Dan in West Africa, Eberhard Fischer and Hans Himmelheber, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 1984, 122. Fischer and Himmelheber in Falgayrettes-Leveau, Cuillers Sculptures, 1991, p. 73-88

• Measurements: 4.15 cm
• Condition: Very Good, dark patina, traces of age and ritual use, damaged on the left leg, incl. stand.
• Lit.: The Met: Ceremonial Ladle (Wakemia or Wunkirmian) 19th–mid-20th century; Eberhard Fischer and Hans Himmelheber: The Arts of the Dan in West Africa, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 1984; Eberhard Fischer: Dan Artists: The Sculptors Tame, Si, Tompieme and Sõn- Their Personalities and Work, Zurich, 2014; E. Fischer/H. Himmelheber: Spoons of the Dan (Liberia/Ivory Coast), Looking-Serving-Eating-Emblems of Abundance. Homberger, L., ed. Zurich 1991: Museum Rietberg; Ernst Winizki: Afrikanische Löffel: African Spoons. Zurich: Museum Rietberg; B. C. Johnson: Seeking a Name: Four Dan Sculptors of Liberia. San Francisco 1984.