Skip Navigation

Feast Ladle (Wunkermian)

Arts of Africa

Hospitality is an important virtue in African societies. Among the Dan, the woman with the greatest reputation for hospitality is known as a wunkirle. On public occasions, she carries as a staff of office a spoon known as a wunkirmian. The large bowl of the spoon suggests the ample quantities of rice she has given away. The ram's head commonly denotes power among the Dan, but it may also refer to the use of rams as sacrifices at the feasts over which a wunkirle presides.

CULTURE Dan
MEDIUM Wood, copper alloy, fiber
  • Place Made: Liberia
  • DATES early 20th century
    DIMENSIONS 22 3/8 x 5 x 5 in. (56.8 x 12.7 x 12.7 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 1998.80.4
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Blake Robinson
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Feast ladle with elongated bowl and handle with large terminal in the form of a cow's head. The bowl, which is longer than handle, has an underside of seven lengthwise facets. The cow's head has faceted horns, small eyes, and bulbous nose; it is embellished with brass carpet tacks, several of which are missing. Condition: Good. Overall signs of wear; nicks and scratches.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Dan. Feast Ladle (Wunkermian), early 20th century. Wood, copper alloy, fiber, 22 3/8 x 5 x 5 in. (56.8 x 12.7 x 12.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Blake Robinson, 1998.80.4. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1998.80.4_SL1.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 1998.80.4_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.