This rare Tswana spoon has been beautifully carved into the slender form of a giraffe, with a slightly upturned head and a body decorated with scorched markings. Over time, the surface of this nineteenth-century spoon has developed a glossy and rich patina as a result of age.
Tswana spoons depicting animals, such as this fine example, have been documented in line drawings in the German geographer and ethnographer Friedrich Ratzel's 1896 publication The History of Mankind, as exemplified in a photograph shown in the slide show.
Estimated Period: 19th Century
Ex Private Collection, UK
Reference
Friedrich Ratzel, The History of Mankind (1896)
CBC.ABOO
(Click on images to enlarge)
