Food dish

This large dish is engraved in the round with a central circle surrounded by four geometrically decorated friezes. A hole in the handle allows a cord to be passed through to secure the dish. On the opposite side of the socket, a nose is shown. According to Christian Coiffier in Des plats entre hommes et esprits. Page 22, this element of the human body is found on Murik dishes. This isolated nose is associated with a powerful clan spirit. He adds: “It should be noted that the position of this nose indicates that the being represented is seen from behind, i.e. it envelops the dish with the food it contains. We can therefore see a desire to give this representation a protective function”.