HAND CARVED ETHNIC TRIBAL BUFFALO HORN RICE OR LIME SCOOP, LARGE SPOON USED DURING FESTIVITIES, RITES OF PASSAGE ETC... COLLECTED ON THE PREMISES IN THE LATE 20TH CENTURY, INDONESIA , ITEM 250C 8” X 4 1/2” PROTECTIVE ANCESTOR HANDLE.
COLLECTIBLE HAND CRAFTED UTENSIL, ONE OF A KIND:
Genuine older hand carved Indonesian Water Buffalo Horn Serving tool with a male ancestor carving on the handle to protect the owner from dark magic.
ITEM 250C: Spoon is 8"x 4 1/2".
Such large instruments were used to serve food or scoop lime powder (betel nut habit paraphernalia) during ceremonies, weddings, temple celebrations.
Such spoons bear all the different tones and shadows a buffalo horn can have: the buffalo material has a beautiful transparency and veins of different browns (when you look at it in the sunlight) reminiscent of turtle shell (what combs used to be made of in the past). The rich transparency is seen on some of the photos here.
This is a unique utensil, a decorative primitive tool that can also be used, being extremely practical for serving at parties, if you want to do such instead of displaying it, especially for a Tiki Luau barbecue.
Very elegant hand-carved & hand etched rice or lime serving tool, with exquisite carving detail, created from 1 whole water buffalo horn. It can be used everyday, as it is in its place of origin, or become a collector display in your home since its flowing shape looks very aesthetic.
It carries great traditional significance as there is a protective ancestor carved on the handle (to protect the owner from black magic) and then, the buffalo, lime and rice were essential sources of sustenance that the islanders depended on and revered. The crafting of a rice-scoop from buffalo horn was a testament to all these needs.
Please note! Indonesian water buffalo horn and bones are not on the endangered species list, in fact no buffalo is, from the American Buffalo to the Asian or African buffalo.
History on Spoons: Believe it or not, spoons are a fashionable collectible. They are a symbol of civilized life and there are thousands of people who maintain traditional spoon collections. Meatloaf, the singer, collects spoons.
Spoons are easy and international. All kinds of people collect spoons. And it is like stamps collecting, infinite. You can't have them all -- sometimes a picture or a memory has to suffice. Spoons are used in many cultures and have been for centuries. They are interesting because they are hand tools for eating and are usually created with some style, shape and design, beyond function.
The first spoons were made from seashells. That's why so many metal spoons you pick up have a scallop design on the handle to this day. That is why Indonesia, Papua New guinea & the remote Trobriands, where we collect our unique spoons and which boasts more than 14,000 islands (and thus plenty of shells), make some of the world's most fascinating spoons, out of either buffalo horn, coconut, bone or mother of pearl (nacre).
Spoons can be made of many things, as we mentioned above: a hunk of coconut shell found curved under the sand, a piece of bone, or seashell or molded clay, animal horn. Gourmets will only eat caviar (sturgeon eggs) from bone or seashell (often abalone) spoons as these materials do not impart any additional flavor to the delicate fish eggs.
All our collector and rare items come with pages and pages of research about provenance, and with history of the tribes and photos as well, depending on item and whenever possible. When shipping internationally, we group ship multiple purchases to save you money, and find the best rates available. If you have any questions or want to see research conducted on this piece and photos of tribes, let us know.