20th C. Hawaiian Carved Mango Wood Calabash
Size: 9.7" diameter x 5" high
A wonderful, hand-carved mango wood bowl calabash - a serving bowl named for a gourd and made from hardwood in Hawaii - presenting a planar base and smooth walls that rise to an annular rim. The form is nicely complemented by toffee-hued woodgrain with natural caramel, chocolate, and espresso striations. Hawaiian royalty often valued specific calabashes - even going so far as to name them after royal individuals - and until the early 19th century they were reserved for elites in society. Traditionally, calabashes were made with stone and coral tools, carved from koi milo and kaman trees. A sumptuous and finely carved example!
