Ritual dish (daveniyaqona) Early 19th century Fijian This remarkable sculptural vessel is exceptionally elegant in its design and ingenious for its formal inventiveness. It is not simply a work of decorative art; it is a vessel conceived as a vehicle to elicit contact with ancestral gods. In a radical reinterpretation of form, the master carver who created it has fused the bold abstraction of a powerful physiognomy with the delicate contours of a receptacle. Despite its intimate scale, the looming ancestral figure exudes a powerful presence embodying the deep lineage of relations that were act

Ritual dish (daveniyaqona) Early 19th century Fijian This remarkable sculptural vessel is exceptionally elegant in its design and ingenious for its formal inventiveness. It is not simply a work of decorative art; it is a vessel conceived as a vehicle to elicit contact with ancestral gods. In a radical reinterpretation of form, the master carver who created it has fused the bold abstraction of a powerful physiognomy with the delicate contours of a receptacle. Despite its intimate scale, the looming ancestral figure exudes a powerful presence embodying the deep lineage of relations that were activated during its ritual use. Sacred vesi wood was used for high-status ceremonial objects and formed part of the ritual paraphernalia of Fijian priests who were charged with the dangerous duty of entering into communication with gods and spirits on behalf of their chiefs. Delicately proportioned vessels of this kind were used to prepare and serve libations or to hold small amounts of sacred oil. Skillfully carved from a single block of wood, the shallow volume has been carefully hollowed to accommodate these liquids. The imbibing of the sacred yaqona plant in liquid form allowed the ancestor spirit to physically enter the body of the priest. Oil was used to anoint the body in preparation for the animated and highly physical ritual that involved the god taking possession of the priest. The figure’s hunched shoulders, heavy limbs and pronounced brow create an intensity appropriate to the solemnity of these ancestral invocations. Smoothed to a remarkable finish, the shallow curvature of the dish is remarkable given the hardness of the wood from which it is carved. A finely turned, gently beveled lip runs the length of the figure’s body and two elegant supports on the reverse allow for a modicum of stability ensuring that the vessel would not spill its precious contents when placed on the uneven earthen surface of the priest’s spirit house. When placed upright, the figure as

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