Featured old food cover with cowrie shells?

dear all

need help with identification.
it is 22' wide and 8 1/2" tall. it has what i think are slices of cowrie shells? it doesn't look like it had a handle on top. the cloth covered underside makes me wonder if it is indeed a food cover. i have googled chinese, malay, burmese, javanese and african food cover domes but got nothing perhaps it is not a food cover after all?

regards
phaik hooi

 

Phaik, did you see this thread from yesterday?

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/cowrie-shell-woven-hat.22578/#post-304077

I'll bet Taupou would know!

 

yes! so when i was cleaning up and saw this, i thought .... not enough cowrie shells to help with shielding brain from mind control

 

It's a traditional basketry offering cover (primarily for food offerings) from Bali. Usually seen with white beads, these are nassa shells, frequently used on tribal artifacts, especially in Papua New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia.

 

Taupou, I just wanted to let you know how much I ALWAYS appreciate your input! Your special knowledge of things is ALWAYS well outside my own, and I continue to be in awe!

 

tq!! nassa shells not cowrie tried to find similar image. can you tell me when this would have been used? wonder how it ended up in my family.

 

It wouldn't cover a plate of food, like we would use a food cover. It is more like a decorative hat for those high towers of food the Balinese (and some other Indonesians) make as offerings, mostly during the ceremonial period of Galungan and Kuningan.
These are the offerings being carried to the temple (strong women!). These don't have the covers, but plaited palm leaf 'Cili' decorations:


The offerings at a temple, adorned with covers, like hats, similar to yours:


Penjar, very tall decorations for ceremonies, with more Cilis at the end. The Cilis are stylized Goddess figures with a radiating headdress. You find them in every ceremonial place or situation.

 

tq!! yes spotted some looking very similar to mine in the second photo.
these traditional festivals are really awesome. i am always amazed at how they have survived through the ages/changing times

 

Bali was lucky in the sense that it was not of any interest to colonizers until the second half of the 19th century. Even then, the Dutch only colonized parts of Bali to stop the incessant Balinese slave raids on neighbouring islands, and looting of foreign trade ships en route between the Straits and the Moluccan Spice Islands.
For centuries Bali had been split between several kingdoms. The kings were descendants of regent dynasties from the time it was a colony of the East Javanese Majapahit empire. After the fall of Majapahit, the regent families became rulers, and often cruel usurpers, of the indigenous Balinese.
Balinese culture is greatly influenced by Hindu-Javanese culture.
The island was finally placed under full Dutch colonial rule in 1909, after the violent looting of yet another Chinese ship, which led to yet another diplomatic scandal. The Dutch invasion led to 'perang puputan' or mass ritual suicide in several of the royal courts. I will spare you the details, but it is important to mention it to understand why Bali held a privileged position in the Dutch East Indies.
The 'perang puputan' led to a public outcry in The Netherlands. Startled and outraged by what happened, the Dutch set up special projects to support the local population and give a boost to Balinese culture.
Bali soon became an artist hotspot. Not just because of the stunning landscape, but also because the artists found models of 'natural nudity', as they called it. The colonial funds, and artists from all parts of the world also provided an incentive for the Balinese to appreciate, and focus on, their own artistry.

 

as i said, amazed