Hawaiian
18th to early 19th century
Basalt (volcanic)
Height: 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); Diameter: 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); Weight: 5.4 lbs (2.4 kg)
Provenance: Private collection, Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi
The pōhaku kuʻi ʻai was the primary tool for processing kalo, or taro, into poi, the fermented paste that formed the nutritional foundation of the Hawaiian diet. Kalo held ancestral significance in Hawaiian cosmology, understood as a direct ancestor of the Hawaiian people, and the act of preparing poi carried cultural weight beyond its domestic function. This example, dated to the eighteenth to early nineteenth century, comes from a private collection on the Kona coast.
The form is the classic knobbed type: a broad flared base tapering through a waisted body to a domed cylindrical head, proportioned for a firm single-hand grip during pounding. The basalt is dense and even-grained, ground to a consistent surface across the full form with no evidence of later alteration. At 5.4 lbs, the piece carries the working weight typical of poi pounders intended for sustained domestic use.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hawaiian
18th to early 19th century
Basalt (volcanic)
Height: 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); Diameter: 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); Weight: 5.4 lbs (2.4 kg)
Provenance: Private collection, Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi
The pōhaku kuʻi ʻai was the primary tool for processing kalo, or taro, into poi, the fermented paste that formed the nutritional foundation of the Hawaiian diet. Kalo held ancestral significance in Hawaiian cosmology, understood as a direct ancestor of the Hawaiian people, and the act of preparing poi carried cultural weight beyond its domestic function. This example, dated to the eighteenth to early nineteenth century, comes from a private collection on the Kona coast.
The form is the classic knobbed type: a broad flared base tapering through a waisted body to a domed cylindrical head, proportioned for a firm single-hand grip during pounding. The basalt is dense and even-grained, ground to a consistent surface across the full form with no evidence of later alteration. At 5.4 lbs, the piece carries the working weight typical of poi pounders intended for sustained domestic use.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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