Sepik Culture, Oceania - Pirogue-shaped Wooden Cup

Sepik Culture, Papua New Guinea, end of the 19th century.
Wooden cup in a pirogue shape, with two animal heads on each extremity.

Dimensions:
Length: 70 cm
Width: 20 cm
Height: 8.5 cm

The Sepik culture, very diverse, gathers the tribes living along the eponym river, principally flowing in Papua New Guinea. These tribes are especially recognized for their works in sculpted wood, ranging from masks to statuettes, and even various objects like this cup. This type of wooden cup was used to collect food, and was therefore part of the daily life of these tribes in Papua New Guinea.

“Goldie noted in his Memoir that wooden dishes of a narrow oblong canoe shape were « very much used » at Kerepuna. Thet probably functioned as food bowls and may have been made at the village which was well-known for its canoe-making and from which Goldie stated the wooden kasi shields also originated.” - “Catalogue of Papuan artefacts associated with Andrew Goldie” in Memoirs of the Queensland Museum / Culture. Vol. 6, 18 December 2012.

Andrew Goldie, a Scottish trader, traveled in Papua New Guinea in the 1870s to collect plants for a nurseryman in London. After living there between 1876 and 1890, he came back with all kinds of scientific specimens and a great knowledge of the people living there, making him one of the greatest natural history and artifacts collector of Papua New Guinea.