Marquesan, French Polynesia
1880s
Wood
Height: 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); Diameter: 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Auckland, New Zealand
Carved wooden bowls from the Marquesas Islands are distinguished by the dense surface ornament applied to their exteriors, drawing on a formal vocabulary of tiki figures, centipede forms, and geometric interlocking patterns that appear across Marquesan carving traditions in wood, bone, and stone. This decorative system was not merely ornamental but encoded cosmological and genealogical meaning within the object's surface. This example dates to the 1880s and comes from a private Auckland collection.
The exterior is carved in low relief across its full circumference with a continuous field of tiki and centipede motifs organized in registers, the lines incised with consistent depth and spacing. The interior is smooth and undecorated, the bowl form hemispherical with a slightly thickened rim. The wood has developed a deep, glossy dark patina through age and handling, with the carved detail remaining crisp throughout.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Marquesan, French Polynesia
1880s
Wood
Height: 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); Diameter: 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Auckland, New Zealand
Carved wooden bowls from the Marquesas Islands are distinguished by the dense surface ornament applied to their exteriors, drawing on a formal vocabulary of tiki figures, centipede forms, and geometric interlocking patterns that appear across Marquesan carving traditions in wood, bone, and stone. This decorative system was not merely ornamental but encoded cosmological and genealogical meaning within the object's surface. This example dates to the 1880s and comes from a private Auckland collection.
The exterior is carved in low relief across its full circumference with a continuous field of tiki and centipede motifs organized in registers, the lines incised with consistent depth and spacing. The interior is smooth and undecorated, the bowl form hemispherical with a slightly thickened rim. The wood has developed a deep, glossy dark patina through age and handling, with the carved detail remaining crisp throughout.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
