Lime spatula

Reference : 1349

Spatula with scrolled handle.
Ebony wood
Height: 340mm
19th century
Vakuta Island. Trobriand Archipelago.

Provenance:
John & Marcia Friede Collection. Rye. New York.USA
For a similar model. Sotheby’s Paris sale. 12.12.2012 lot n°13

Literature

Marcelin, 2013. Spatulas. n°44 of the exhibition catalog

More details

Called “Tanagega” on Vakuta Island in the Trobriand archipelago, they were created by master sculptors.
Their name is a combination of “Tai” (carving function) and “Nagega”, a type of pirogue used for Kula.
According to Malinowski (1932. page 145), the Nagega deep-sea canoe builders stopped making this type of craft at the end of the 19th century, replacing it with the “Masawa” canoe, which was lighter, faster and easier to build.

Price: € 1.800

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