This antique rice spoon from Java, Indonesia, was traditionally used to serve rice in shared meals in villages or local communities. Its elongated, curved shape and wide basin speak to functionality with grace. Designed to stand, the spoon’s handle references the Wayang puppets of Javanese shadow theater, a cultural tradition rich in myth, imagination, and storytelling.
Wayang or Wajang, meaning "shadow" or "imagination”, is a sacred performance of ancestral tales, epics from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. That symbolism now lives quietly in this object, that linked function and myth, daily life and ceremony.
Time has left its mark on this spoon. The wood is smoothed from touch and surface scratches tell of many years in use. Today, the Rice Spoon can serve a new purpose. It can be placed on a shelf, used in an altar arrangement, or featured in a culinary vignette. Whether styled with flowers, or simply on its own, it invites curiosity and honors the beauty of tradition.
This antique rice spoon from Java, Indonesia, was traditionally used to serve rice in shared meals in villages or local communities. Its elongated, curved shape and wide basin speak to functionality with grace. Designed to stand, the spoon’s handle references the Wayang puppets of Javanese shadow theater, a cultural tradition rich in myth, imagination, and storytelling.
Wayang or Wajang, meaning "shadow" or "imagination”, is a sacred performance of ancestral tales, epics from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. That symbolism now lives quietly in this object, that linked function and myth, daily life and ceremony.
Time has left its mark on this spoon. The wood is smoothed from touch and surface scratches tell of many years in use. Today, the Rice Spoon can serve a new purpose. It can be placed on a shelf, used in an altar arrangement, or featured in a culinary vignette. Whether styled with flowers, or simply on its own, it invites curiosity and honors the beauty of tradition.
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