Two pudding knives · Vanuatu - Banks Islands · ID: 3040231
sold
EUR 1,200
Size
L: 38,5 cm/ 49 cm
L: 15.2 inch/ 19.3 inch
Description
wood, dark brown/reddish brown patina, a) with handle in openwork design and a broad blade, slightly dam., small traces of insect caused damage; b) of narrow elongated form, handle with ornamental contours, slighty dam., on custom mount;
the staple food for the Iles Banks group, as well as of most of Vanuatu, was pudding “lap-lap”, which consisted of yams, taro, or banana. Men used personal eating knives for this pudding. Elaborately carved and beautifully elongated examples of pudding knives are found only on Iles Banks and Torres. Their use was restricted to men of high rank: lower orders would have used relatively simple and shorter knives.
Comparing literature
Hurst, Norman, Power and Prestige, Cambridge 1996, p. 33