Sawos Food Bowls

Food Bowls, 20th century
Sawos People, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Ceramic and natural pigments; 12.25 diameter each
2004.6.38; 2004.6.44
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. David and Karina Rilling These food bowls are part of a larger collection originating from the Sawos people in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. Each highly decorated utilitarian bowl is made by women who construct them by coiling method. Men decorate the bowls by incising curvilinear and arciform designs mirrored on two or more sides of the bowls; outstanding motifs mimic nature or are representative of spirits. After the women low fire the bowls, the men heavily apply natural red, yellow and white pigments. The bowls, despite their elaborateness, are used for everyday eating and when not in use they are stored with their openings towards the ground to ensure visibility of their beautiful designs. Sawos bowls are found throughout the middle Sepik river region because they are traded to neighboring villages for fish, tobacco and other goods. Ceramics of Sustenance: Elaborate Vessels of the Sawos, Papua New Guinea, an exhibition featuring 32 of these ornate and finely crafted bowls will be on exhibit at the Anthropology Teaching Museum at California State University, Fullerton beginning Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
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