Carved popo

Carved popo. Carved coconut shell. A hollowed out popo (coconut shell) is scraped thin and polished and cut into portions from which this leaf was carved out of. The underside is light brown in colour and the outside is a dark rich brown; both have markings in varying shades of brown throughout. The edges are carved into the blades of the leaf, the central midrib and the veins are carved into the outside of the popo. There is a slight curve in the shell due to the spherical shape of the popo, but it is made to look and be as flat as possible. There are two miniscule holes drilled along the midrib of the leaf. This leaf could have been used as a part of an adornment or as an embellishment on clothing or a bag.

Ingoa Kē

Carved coconut shell (English)

Wāhi

[Samoa]/Pacific

Accession Number

2002.63.8

Rā Tāpiringa

24 Jun 2002

Tohu Tuakiri Kē

55986 (ethnology)

Wāhanga

Pacific