Fiji Ironwood Kava Bowl, Low Form

Fiji

Circa 1850

Ironwood

Diameter 19½"; height 5"

Provenance: Peter Keller, Director, Bowers Museum

This tanoa was carved from a single piece of ironwood and carries a well-used patina built through years of yaqona preparation. The proportions are lower and wider than many examples, giving the bowl a grounded, stable presence. At 19½ inches in diameter and just 5 inches in height, it sits close to the ground in the manner of bowls intended for seated ceremony.

Peter Keller served as director of the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, an institution with one of the significant Pacific collections on the West Coast. His involvement with Oceanic material was sustained and knowledgeable, and pieces from his collection carry the credibility of a collector who understood what he was acquiring. This bowl passed through his hands as part of a considered engagement with Pacific art rather than incidental accumulation.

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