Bowl
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlacePhilippines
Medium/TechniqueCoconut
DimensionsOverall: 8.5 x 14 cm (3 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2742
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDecorative arts
Collections
Among Ifugao peoples of the Philippines, food was habitually served to wealthy men in footed bowls with notched rims and other, smaller, containers like this, while ordinary families shared food from large dishes. This bowl probably owes its shiny black patina to the application of duck fat or lard, combined with soot from the cooking fire.
Inscriptionsin marker inside bowl: "P4"Provenance1980s, sold by Galerie Majestic, Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
20th century
18th–19th century