Fijian Yaqona Bowl, 19th Century

  • Title
    Fijian Yaqona Bowl 19th Century
  • Artist
    Unknown
  • Location
    Fiji
  • Size
    43cm (L) x 29cm (W) x 13cm (H)
  • Price
    $5,500 AUD

This style of bowl is called ” Sedreniyaqona “.  It is carved from a slab of vesi wood with adzes and axes, and patinated with yaqona ( kava ) residue.   Dishes of this style were seen by Captain Cook in Tonga in the 1770s, where they were probably also used as food platters.  Some consider this shaped bowl a Tongan design. Examples like this were also seen in use as a yaqona dish. These bowls could serve religous ,ritual and domestic purposes.

Provenance:

Henry Ryans UK

John Hewitt, Kent  UK (1919-1994)*

Sold by descendant of the above at Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch LTD, London UK.

Ned and Mina Smith Collection, California

* John Hewitt  was one of the most recognized UK Dealers in the 1940’s- into the 1980’s.  He sold  masterpieces of Oceanic art to museums and significant collectors in Europe and the USA.

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This style of bowl is called ” Sedreniyaqona “.  It is carved from a slab of vesi wood with adzes and axes, and patinated with yaqona ( kava ) residue.   Dishes of this style were seen by Captain Cook in Tonga in the 1770s, where they were probably also used as food platters.  Some consider this shaped bowl a Tongan design. Examples like this were also seen in use as a yaqona dish. These bowls could serve religous ,ritual and domestic purposes.

Provenance:

Henry Ryans UK

John Hewitt, Kent  UK (1919-1994)*

Sold by descendant of the above at Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch LTD, London UK.

Ned and Mina Smith Collection, California

* John Hewitt  was one of the most recognized UK Dealers in the 1940’s- into the 1980’s.  He sold  masterpieces of Oceanic art to museums and significant collectors in Europe and the USA.

19th Century, Fijian Yaqona Bowl,  of a stylistic form that is found in Tonga