A Rare Figurative Ladle from Palau

Epoque: 1800-1850

Medium: Wood

Dimension: 37 cm (14⁵/₈ inches)

Provenance: Captain Levisohn, Germany 
Collected in the 1870’s while the Captain of the ‘Susanne’, Levisohn travelled widely throughout the German territories of Micronesia and often sought pieces for German dealers, including J.F.G Umlauff of Hamburg 
Max Ackermann, 1887 - 1975, a German artist who established an artists colony with his friend and colleague Otto Dix in the early 1950’s at Hornstead near Lake Constanz 
Ex Private German collection 
Ex Private UK collection 

cf A similar example can be found in Linden-Musuem, Stuttgart, Germany

Literature: These rare figurative ladles from Palau were used by high ranking families to serve a ceremonial fish or turtle soup. This one is a particular fine example depicting a pair of female ancestral figures. The delicately carved figures are rendered with the traditional ‘top knot’ hairstyle, ear-spools and the colourful fibre skirts or ‘cheriut’ worn by the Paluan women of rank during the 18th and 19th centuries. The distinctive skirts were constructed from the bast fibre of local trees, and were then brightly coloured with either orange turmeric or a mixture of red ochre soil and coconut oil, referred to as ‘choriich’. Traces of this red pigment can be found on the skirts of the figures on the ladle. The carved armband depicted on the standing figure represents a ‘derual’ made from stacked rings of turtle shell, also an indicator of wealth and rank in Palauan culture.