Spoon with anthropomorphic Ifugao handle, North... Lot 13

Spoon with anthropomorphic Ifugao handle, North Luzon, Philippines Early 20th century Wood L. 35 cm Provenance : Bernhard Floedl Collection, Austria The fruit of Philippine craftsmanship, this spoon testifies to the know-how and high technicality as much as to the inventiveness of the Ifugao people, living on the island of Luzon, subtly combining two functions - aesthetic and spiritual - with a utilitarian object. Their handles are systematically adorned with a finely sculpted figure in the round, intended to represent and embody local divinities or ancestors. In everyday life, these spoons have long been used for the traditional consumption of soup or rice, the region's main resource. The patina of the wood, often a glossy black, as on this example, is obtained by repeated rubbing with animal fat. A small figure standing upright, the elements of its body linked and interlocked, giving it a frozen stature subtly counterbalanced by the angular, rhythmic modeling of its limbs; knees, bent elbows, shoulders clearly drawn in a neat linear rigor. A small face with fine, delicate features is topped by a headdress, arranged like a crown, presenting a beautiful hollowed-out spherical shape.