Rare Antique Hawaiian Kou Umeke Calabash Poi Bowl

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About the Item

Rare early 19th century hand carved Hawaiian Kou wood poi bowl of elegant calabash form. The best of these poi bowls copied the gourd, and this bowl has a wonderful organic form. Its base rests on a point, and it seems to float on the table. This size and form would be called a Ku`oho, and it would have been used as a serving bowl. Condition: Very good antique condition. retaining its original surface. Age appropriate wear as seen in photographs. Old indigenous resin repairs (versus modern refinishing), as seen in Views 3, 6 and 10. The age lines are natural and are to be expected in a bowl of this early date, which was probably used for well over a century before it was collected.Also very important is the fact that it retains the original surface and has never been restored. In early Hawiian culture, the crafting of wooden bowls far exceeded the functional requirements needed to serve their purpose. Throughout the Pacific no other culture went through as much trouble to take a seemingly functional item and elevate it to such high aesthetic standards with meticulous attention to detail. Shape, color, grain and finish were very important in the Hawaiian culture, and making a bowl was very labor intensive. They would burn out the center of the log and carve out the rest with a sharp rock. Finishing a bowl required numerous stages of rubbing with different abrasive rocks, coral, shark skin, charcoal and ulu and bamboo leaves to get to the final polish of the bowl. Kou wood was used because of its workability and fine grain. It did not impart a bad taste to food as did some of the other woods, such as koa. Kou wood bowls were usually reserved for the ali'i (royalty), while the maka'ainana (commoners) used containers made of hollowed out gourds. The kou tree once was common along the shore, but was attacked in the 1850s by a non-native insect that almost wiped out the species.

Dimensions:
Height: 6.25 in (15.88 cm)Diameter: 8 in (20.32 cm)
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1790-1840
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Essex, MA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: U1110158377860

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