Linton — The Marquesas Islands 365 



Oval dishes and trays are now obsolete, but seein formerly to have been 

 rather common. They were of all sizes ; examples as much as five feet in length 

 are remembered. Smoothly rounded inside and out, they had no distinct sides. 

 Some specimens showed a distinct flat rim. In a large specimen of this type in 

 the Bishop Museum one end of the rim bears a short upward projection cut into 

 two levels, like steps, but as no examples of this were seen in the group its pur- 

 pose was not ascertained. (See PI. lx, C.) 



Stewart (59, pp. 331-332) speaks of a large trough "rudely sculptured at 

 one end into a head gaping hideously, as if to devour all who approach," which 

 he saw in a nie'ae of Nuka Hiva. At the time of his visit it contained a decaying 

 human sacrifice. Very large oval bowls with tight fitting covers are also men- 

 tioned by early visitors, but no examples appear to have survived. 



Small oval bowls having at one end a projecting neck terminating in a 

 knob, and at the other a flat tipped projecting tail flush with the rim, appear to 

 have been rather common in ancient times. In one specimen of this type (PL 

 LXi, B, i) which was found in a burial cave and is probably pre-European, the 

 knob is carved into a fine tiki head, directed forward and slightly upward, and 

 the lower side of the neck is encircled by a row of small perforations which were 

 probably intended for the attachment of hair or feather ornaments. In another 

 specimen (No. 2 in the same illustration), also old, the outer end of the knob is 

 pointed and its upper surface is carved into a legless tiki whose face is nearly 

 horizontal. This specimen has on either side a short distance below the rim, a 

 horizontal flange, the whole form being obviously a modification of a bird effigy. 

 Two holes for the attachment of cords are drilled near the tips of the knob and 

 of the tail. The relation between the bowls of this type and the bodies of the 

 boxes (p. 359) is evident, and it is difiicult to determine to which class some 

 specimens belong. 



The collections of the American Museum of Natural History, New York 

 City, contain an elaborately carved bowl having at either end a flat projecting 

 handle. A similar specimen with the handles carved into grotesque heads is 

 figured by Christian (10, p. 148). Both specimens are obviously recent work, 

 probably made for sale. There is no reason to suppose, however, that they 

 were copied from any European form, a point of importance in our considera- 

 tion of the next type. 



Marquesan utensils having an o\al body, a low round base placed central- 

 ly, and a projecting knob handle at either end, are quite common in collections 

 (PI. Lxi, A). They are frequently provided with a domed cover having 

 upon its center a knob handle, and are always elaborately carved. The resemb- 

 lance of many of these utensils to European soup tureens is striking, and old 



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