A long carved wooden ladle or spoon with stylized ancestor face on the handle, ringed neck suggesting prestige and wealth and a well handled surface patina. Dan peoples, Ivory Coast, west Africa. According to the web site Imo Dara, such spoons are known as Wunkirmian (also called wake mia) spoons are brought out during important feasts and ceremonies and awarded to the women in the village considered to be the most generous and hospitable. The selected woman (known as wake de, 'at feasts acting woman' or wunkirle 'most hospitable woman') is then responsible for supervising the preparation of village feasts during masquerade ceremonies, directing the distribution of rice to children and members of the village, whilst also dancing through the village, using the wunkirmian as a dance wand. She is also subsequently responsible for selecting her successor.In addition to being emblems of honour, wunkirmian also have spiritual power. They are a Dan woman’s chief liaison with the power of the spirit world and a symbol of that connection. Among the Dan, the wunkirmian have been assigned a role among women that is comparable to that which masks serve among the men. In many instances, wunkirmian are featured in the same ceremonies with masks, tossing rice in front of them as a blessing while they proceed through the village. This spoon measures 21 inches long ( 26.5 inches tall when on professional custom display stand. Provenance: Alfred L. Scheinberg (1949-1992), NYC, New York, USA

Fair, well handled