Kava-bowl
- Gallery: Room 2
- Made in: Hawaii
- Date: 18thC(mid)-18thC late (before 1778)
- Object type: kava-bowl
- Materials: kou wood; pearlshell; boar tusk
- Museum number: Oc,HAW.46
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is a kava-bowl, an object with both artistic and cultural importance, made in Hawaii during the mid to late 18th century. Before you is a wooden bowl shaped from kou wood, a highly respected material in Hawaiian traditions. The bowl features two carved figures: one whole figure at the back and a partial figure at the front.
Notice the intricate details—parts of boar tusks are fitted into the mouths of both figures, with twenty-six at the front and twenty-four at the back. Inlaid pearl shell adds additional texture and beauty. Though the exact use of the bowl remains uncertain, it was likely used in kava drinking ceremonies.
This artwork is connected to Captain James Cook’s third voyage between 1776 and 1780. It was gifted to an officer by a Hawaiian chief and later donated to the museum in 1780 by Sir Joseph Banks.
See it in person
Kava-bowl is on display in Room 2 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
