Hawaiian
Circa 1800
Kou wood (Cordia subcordata)
Height: 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); Diameter: 17 in. (43.2 cm)
Provenance: Private Hawaiian family, Mānoa Valley, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi; held in the same family for over three generations
Large-diameter kou calabashes of this scale were used in Hawaiian domestic life for the serving of meat and fish rather than poi, with vessel size generally corresponding to function and the number of people served. Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu has a long history of Hawaiian settlement, and objects remaining within Hawaiian family collections across multiple generations carry a continuity of custody that distinguishes them from pieces that passed into the trade. This example, dating to circa 1800, has remained with one Mānoa family for over three generations.
The bowl is wide and shallow in proportion, the broad diameter suited to communal food service, with walls that curve gently inward to a smoothly finished rim. The kou displays pronounced figuring across the exterior, with tonal variation ranging from amber to deep reddish-brown, the surface developing a deep even patina through age and use. The form and scale are consistent with documented Hawaiian serving calabashes in institutional collections.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hawaiian
Circa 1800
Kou wood (Cordia subcordata)
Height: 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); Diameter: 17 in. (43.2 cm)
Provenance: Private Hawaiian family, Mānoa Valley, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi; held in the same family for over three generations
Large-diameter kou calabashes of this scale were used in Hawaiian domestic life for the serving of meat and fish rather than poi, with vessel size generally corresponding to function and the number of people served. Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu has a long history of Hawaiian settlement, and objects remaining within Hawaiian family collections across multiple generations carry a continuity of custody that distinguishes them from pieces that passed into the trade. This example, dating to circa 1800, has remained with one Mānoa family for over three generations.
The bowl is wide and shallow in proportion, the broad diameter suited to communal food service, with walls that curve gently inward to a smoothly finished rim. The kou displays pronounced figuring across the exterior, with tonal variation ranging from amber to deep reddish-brown, the surface developing a deep even patina through age and use. The form and scale are consistent with documented Hawaiian serving calabashes in institutional collections.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
