A Superb Old Bowl Wuvulu or Matty Island Manus Province Papua New Guinea Micronesian

A Superb Old Bowl Wuvulu or Matty Island Manus Province Papua New Guinea Micronesian

This unique hourglass-shaped bowl called apia nie is from Wuvulu Island also known as Matty Island is part of the Western Islands of The Bismarck Archipelago in Manus Province of Papua New Guinea. Wuvulu is considered to be a Micronesian outlier because some islands in Papua New Guinea are inhabited by Micronesian settlers.

The unique hourglass-shaped bowls, created on the islands of Wuvulu and Aua embody the spare, minimalist aesthetic of Micronesian art. They were made to be used specifically to collect coconut milk, extracted by squeezing balls of grated coconut meat over the bowl. The wide shallow ends of the bowls curve gently downward toward the deeper centre, in which the freshly squeezed liquid collects.

Many older bowls like this fine example develop a distinctive glossy patina through years of contact with the oil in the coconut milk.

Though still made and used today the newer examples now look chunky with thick uneven walls and they have none of the fineness of the old bowls like fine example.

In the 38 years of my collection of Oceanic Art and it is one of the finest Wuvulu Bowls that I ever had the chance to acquire.

In its pure form, it is a joy to look at.

Provenance:   The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Art & Oceanic and Asian Art.