Finch & Co

Medium / Material

Tortoiseshell

Description

Two Pacific Micronesian Palau Islands Turtle Shell Dishes known as Woman’s valuables or ‘Tolúk’ Belauan People
Late 19th – early 20th Century

Size: A: 16.5cm x 10cm, 1cm deep – 6½ ins x 4 ins, ¼ ins deep
B: 17cm x 10cm, 3cm deep – 6¾ ins x 4 ins, 1 ins deep - NOW SOLD

Provenance

See: Finch & Co catalogue no.14, item no.42, for three other examples
Provenance: Ex French collection

Literature

Although these turtle shell dishes are often thought of as ‘money’ Belauan women’s valuables are not currency in the ordinary sense, but treasured objects. The dishes often have extensive individual histories and are exchanged between, rather than within, families on important occasions such as births, marriages and deaths. Tolúk are owned and used exclusively by women and are sometimes presented as ritual payment to female-in-laws for food or services such as assistance in the preparations for a feast. The trays are carefully preserved through each generation and form part of a family’s store of wealth, acquiring a rich glossy patina through years of exchange and handling.

Current Condition

NOTE : One dish now sold