Sago Eating Bowl

Conical bowl. Coiled construction, carved and painted. Patterns are red, yellow, and white, outlined in burnished black. Inside is dark terracotta with extensive smudged areas from firing. An eating bowl, for individual portions of sago pudding. Supported by a woven fiber ring when in use.

Pattern, viewed from the top, resembles a six-petalled flower, every other petal ending in a large heart shape. From the side the three heart shapes, along with circles in the triangular negative spaces between the petals, can be perceived as human faces. Between and below each pair of faces is a large elliptical space with interlocking semi-circles and concentric crescents. Narrow border of round punctures around rim.