Time Marker

Unknown

late 19th century · Wood, lime · Musical Instruments

Lime spatulas, commonly found at the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea, occur in 2 types: with sculpted figural handle, and with split handle decorated with incising. The second type, shown here, is held by the blade and struck against the hand or leg to mark song and dance rhythms. Highly prized by their owners, these spatulas range from 6 inches to 2 feet long and are also used to stir and intoxicating mixture of lime and betel nut, which is chewed like tobacco.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th century

Medium

Wood, lime

Culture

Papua New Guinean

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889