Fine old decorated ceramic bowl from the Wosera people of the Sepik River area of Papua New Guinea. This piece is old and dates to the mid-twentieth century, circa 1950s - 1960s.

The vessel is beautifully formed by hand, made from a fired reddish terracotta clay and decorated with carved, incised and stamped three-dimensional designs, which were then painted with earth pigments. The series of designs represent geometric abstracted faces, very much in the traditional style of Wosera pottery and other arts and crafts decoration.

Kwam, bowls for eating and serving, are made by a subgroup of the Abelam - Wosera. The Abelam are gardening people who put great emphasis on male control of fertility for their yam gardens and community. Elaborate ceremonial houses are decorated with motifs similar to those on their bowls. The men follow certain taboos about food and sexuality in decorating the pots, imbuing them with male spiritual power. The bowls are used ceremonially to serve a white soup of coconut, taro, and yams to male initiates; some are made to sell to tourists.

This is a fine example in good ethnographic condition.

This piece is in excellent condition with no chips, repairs, or hairlines. There is an old worn, darkened patina to the surfaces from long use, slight wear to the paint in places, and a few scrapes to the outside surfaces near the lower parts of the decorative designs.