Hawaiian
18th century, pre-contact
Kou wood (Cordia subcordata), kukui nut finish
Height: 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); Diameter: 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm)
Provenance: One of two bowls found under a coffee shack, Kealakekua Bay, Hawaiʻi
The umeke poi bowl was a personal vessel in Hawaiian domestic life, individual in scale and maintained with care across years of daily use. Pre-contact examples worked entirely with stone tools are distinguished from later bowls by their surface texture and the character of the interior hollowing, which bears the marks of adze work rather than metal tooling. This bowl was one of two found together beneath a coffee shack at Kealakekua Bay, the historically significant inlet on the Kona coast of Hawaiʻi Island.
The bowl is hand-hewn from kou wood and finished with kukui nut oil, the surface developing the deep, uneven patina characteristic of sustained use and age. Numerous native repairs are present across the body, each a direct record of the value placed on this object by its original users. The kou retains figuring and tonal variation across the exterior consistent with pre-contact period Hawaiian vessel production.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hawaiian
18th century, pre-contact
Kou wood (Cordia subcordata), kukui nut finish
Height: 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); Diameter: 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm)
Provenance: One of two bowls found under a coffee shack, Kealakekua Bay, Hawaiʻi
The umeke poi bowl was a personal vessel in Hawaiian domestic life, individual in scale and maintained with care across years of daily use. Pre-contact examples worked entirely with stone tools are distinguished from later bowls by their surface texture and the character of the interior hollowing, which bears the marks of adze work rather than metal tooling. This bowl was one of two found together beneath a coffee shack at Kealakekua Bay, the historically significant inlet on the Kona coast of Hawaiʻi Island.
The bowl is hand-hewn from kou wood and finished with kukui nut oil, the surface developing the deep, uneven patina characteristic of sustained use and age. Numerous native repairs are present across the body, each a direct record of the value placed on this object by its original users. The kou retains figuring and tonal variation across the exterior consistent with pre-contact period Hawaiian vessel production.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
