Top handle of a ladle ·  Philippines - Luzon, Kankanay · ID: 3041984

Description

wood, rich reddish brown shiny patina, traces of black paint, in shape of a standing figure with schematized body, prominent square face with a broad slit-like mouth, slightly dam., insect caused missing parts on the backside, base;
the majority of Kankanay spoons and ladles depict either seated or standing human figures, sometimes referred to as ancestor figures or deities.

Comparing literature

Anderson, Eric Moltzau, In the shape of tradition, Leiden 2010, p. 219, ill. 359