Description & Technical information
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
Dimensions: 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.
Categories: Tribal Art

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Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art
Tribal Art dealer specializing in early Oceanic Art since 1980 and archaic Eskimo Art since 2010
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Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art