Friday 5 April 2019

R.0014 Black carved bowl with mother of pearl inlaid | Melanesia, Solomon Islands

The object R.0014 ‘Black carved wooden bowl with mother of pearl inlaid’ (UCL Ethnographic Collection) is missing provenance information (Image 1). The bowl has a half-egg elongated oval shape with two handles on the two short sides in the forms of a frigate bird’s beak and a tail, and sits on a short circular base. There is mother of pearl inlaid decoration on the carvings. The wood grain appears to extend longitudinally to the tree's stem, so it is probably carved from a single piece of tapa’a wood (Ivens 1927, 380). Channels have been carved to accommodate a type of putty used to secure the mother of pearl. The bowl’s surface has been darkened with a mix of putty and charcoal.

Image 1: Inlaid bowl R.0014 (53.5cm length x 17cm width x 17cm high)
Bowls of this type were only produced for feasts and ceremonial occasions (Ivens 1927, 160; Davenport 1968, 18). The restrain on inlaid decoration indicates that the bowl was made to be used (Mead 1973, 89), possibly placing the bowl’s production before the bonito cult lost ground to Christianity (Mead 1973, 93). 
The bowl’s base is not flat and chipped wood and loss of paint are visible on areas that are prone to get hit during transport or tight storage (Image 2). There is loss of wood underneath the ‘tail’ handle which is directly related to the wood grain. There is cracking from pressure (Image 3) and inlaid decoration missing (Image 4) probably related to loosening of the putty. No additional parts are associated with the object, so these losses probably happened before the object entered the collection.

Image 2: Chipped areas and loss of paint
Image 3: Cracks from pressure
Image 4: Loss of inlaid decoration
There is an abundance of decorated bowls from the Solomon Islands, but they are all differentiated in order to be distinguished from each other by their original users, which makes the object in question very unique. The piece of wood was poorly selected, but it still retained its aesthetic value as an object of ceremonial significance. It was enhanced with use and ritualistic values, as well as social value as this object was not traded for money (Davenport 1968, 18).
As part of the UCL Ethnographic Collection, it has historic value as an example of objects used in spiritual or social ceremonies in a shifting cultural context, but it is not valuable as a research tool due to the lack of provenance information. As a part of a teaching collection, it is a great example of the collective craftsmanship of the south-eastern Solomons’ use of tools and a representation of the ceremonies it was used for.


References
Davenport, W. H., 1968. Sculpture of the Eastern Solomons. Expedition, 10:2, 4-25.
Ivens, W. G., 1927. Melanesians of the South-east Solomon Islands. London: K.Paul, Trench,
Trubner.
Mead, S. M., 1973. The last initiation ceremony at Gapuna Santa Ana, Eastern Solomon
Islands. Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum, 10, 69-95.

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