A Dan Spoon with a Handle in Shape of a Rifle,... Lot n° 15

Spoon, "wunkirmian Dan, Côte d'Ivoire ohne Sockel / without base Wood. L 67,5 cm. Provenance: - Gallery Walu, Zurich. - Swiss estate, Valais. Surrounding oneself with charming objects has always been an essential concern of all peoples. The pursuit of beauty is also evident, among other things, in the shaping of artistically designed everyday objects. The creative will to create perfect solutions in the fusion of technical-practical and formal-aesthetic functions has produced amazingly fascinating solutions over the generations. Prestige spoon with an elongated spoon bowl representing the "body pregnant with rice" (also called "wa ke mia") and a handle in the shape of a rifle. The spoon is the material manifestation of an auxiliary spirit for high-ranking host women, who symbolically distributed food with it on the occasion of celebrations, ritually dancing. On the occasion of the harvest time between November and February numerous, festivities lasting several days, to which every villager contributed what he could. After various events and dance performances, the women prepared the final feast, at the beginning of which they paraded with their artfully and delicately decorated rice spoons and bowls. Further reading: Fischer, Eberhard / Himmelheber, Hans (1976). The Art of Dan. Zurich: Museum Rietberg. CHF 300 / 600 EUR 300 / 600