Dan Figural Wunkirile Spoon Côte d'Ivoire

Overall Condition: Good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.

Damage/Repair: Chip on lip of bowl

The beautiful spoon is carved in a classic Dan style with tribal marks. This spoon is unique for its strong and delightful head.

Figural Spoons such as this were awarded to women known as wunkirile who had been judged by their peers and elders of their village to be the most generous and hospitable to others of their village quarter. Spoon-shaped carvings such as this are best described as feast ladles used by their owner to offer food to others during public feasts. Known as 'wunkirmian' these spoons identify their owner as a woman of the Dan people. A human head or a female figure that decorated the spoon are seen as the personification of positive attributes of women among the Dan people.