Fiji Priestly Oil-Dish

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Fiji Priestly Oil-Dish

Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art

Period 19th century

Medium Wood

Dimension 39 x 33 x 4.3 cm (15³/₈ x 13 x 1³/₄ inches)

A tripod, lenticular, flat, priestly oil-dish or sedre ni waiwai used to hold the sanctified coconut oil taken and rubbed on the priest’s body prior to the ceremony of communing with the ancestors and performing rituals. The handle, of geometric form with inner struts, links to the rear feet of the dish on the underside with twin raised ridges. The outer rim of the dish is beautifully decorated with a strongly carved dentate motif. Fiji Islands, Polynesia. Vesi wood (Intsia bijuga) with a fine oily patina of age and use.

Period: 19th century

Medium: Wood

Dimension: 39 x 33 x 4.3 cm (15³/₈ x 13 x 1³/₄ inches)

Provenance: Provenance : George Henry Bertram Bulmer (1902-1993) of "Little Breinton" house, Breinton, Hereford, UK. Director of Bulmer's Cider Co. and son of Edward (Fred) Bulmer.

Literature: See similar examples drawn by Constance Gordon Cummings in the 1880’s.

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