Cannibal fork "iculanibokola" · Fidji Islands · ID: 3035375
not available anymore
Provenance
American Collection, San FranciscoSize
L: 30,5 cm
L: 12.0 inch
Description
wood, shiny brown patina, slightly bulging handle, fork in form of four circular arranged beaks, socle;
the cannibal fork was used by attendants during ritual feasts to feed individuals considered too holy to touch food. The influence of Christianity ended cannibalism in Fiji by the close of the 19th century.
Comparing literature
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. II, Köln 1995, p. 465, ill. 532