Calabash is the term used for artefacts made from the hard shell of a fruit in the gourd family "Lagenaria siceraria." Once the calabash is dried and hollowed out it can be used for serving or storing food. Calabash containers have been used in Nigeria for hundreds of years. During this time, different peoples developed distinctively different ways of carving and colouring them. The wide variety of designs and visual effects makes it difficult to believe that each artist started with the same plain golden-brown calabash hemisphere. There is great diversity, even in towns and villages just a few miles apart, reflecting the diversity of the inhabitants and nomadic visitors. Hausa calabash carvers cut away portions of the outer surface of the gourd in forming their designs. Abstract patterns are usually chosen but sometimes these are intermingled with the shapes of animals or birds. When the carving is completed, the whole surface of the calabash is rubbed with a chalk-like substance to produce a dusty white overall appearance with light contrast. Size: As they are sculptured from fruit the diameter is not a perfect circle. Approx D is: 35cm x 20cmH
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