Many objects made by the Dan and their neighbors, including this bowl, left Africa through Abidjan, where galleries and high-end merchants catered to collectors. Such bowls are associated with the female domain, and the generosity and hospitality of women who excel in cooking and hard work. Each quarter in a village names and honors one such woman, called wunkirle, who carries a richly decorated ladle as emblem of her achievement and serves food from elaborately carved bowls.

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