Krabuay (Carved Ladle)

The transformation of everyday utilitarian pieces into objects of spectacular visual appeal reaches its height in the extraordinary krabuay of Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand.

While everyday ladles like the one on this page are elegant, attractive utensils, there have been traditions of heavily decorated ladles for ritual or decorative use in Southeast Asia since at least the Bronze Age. Most of these are designed to be used for wine or magical liquids, but the vast majority are able to be used. This krabuay is meant for decorative purposes only, and is as much a sculpture or toy as anything else – depicting typical rural life as well as the serpents common to many carved ladles, it consists of a coconut shell bowl held in the mouth of a giant snake, upon whose back human and animal figures go about their daily tasks. A man pounds rice with a foot-operated thresher, while a woman feeds a duck perched on the bowl's rim from a basket of grain. A cat hangs from the end of the serpent's tail, while a bell with wooden clappers hangs from the cat's rear paws. The whole scene is animated by a second snake attached to the human figures through the large serpent with wire and wooden pegs; when the snake is moved, the man pounds the rice and the woman tosses grain from her basket

While most folk objects are impossible to identify by individual creator, this krabuay is almost certainly the work of the master carver Saleh or a member of his workshop in Ban Tham Pha Tong, Chiang Rai province. A recent honoree of the provincial art institute, Saleh has long been recognized locally for the extraordinary creativity and complexity of his fanciful utensils and for his support of local handicrafts.

Purchased in Bangkok by Sally Nelson on 1 October 1994, $150.

Wood, coconut shell, rattan; 37 x 10.5 cm. | Wood, coconut shell, wire; 47 x 12 x 10cm.