bowl
20th century
Object PlaceCote d'Ivoire; Liberia
Medium/Techniquewood and braided fiber
DimensionsHeight x width: 5 7/8 in., 32 cm (15 cm, 12 5/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2602
On View
Not on viewClassificationsTableware
Collections
Among the Dan peoples, bowls such as this one were especially important. Good hospitality and inviting friends for dinner is an important indication of prestige and status. Preparing food and other aspects of domestic life are under the control of women, and hospitality is a chief concern. This bowl may have been used as a serving vessel during meals and it is decorated with abstract geometric patterns.
ProvenanceGeneviève 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)
