Dimensions: 48cm x 21cm x 45cm
Date of the work: 2022
Medium: Plexiglass
Exhibition history: Prestorjha (2023)
Along with the deep dive into the feminist reimagining of prehistoric female figurines, Tabone chose to take a closer look at other visual aspects of the contexts in which the main artifacts that attracted her were created. Bowls are one such thing. These range from carved stone vessels to some of the earliest pottery receptacles. Their uses also varied, of course, and the larger ones have often been assumed as having functions in various rituals. One such function is that of communal libation.
Libatur sees the artist developing a structure that emphasizes the ornamental markings on such vessels, particularly early pottery rather than the large circular stone receptacles, even if these too were sometimes marked in similar ways. An example of the larger receptacles can still be seen at the Tarxien Temples in Malta. The likelihood that this was a libation bowl is secondary in the imagination of a contemporary artist. Whenever speaking about such works Tabone claims that what artists see can be very different from what archaeologists are able to deduce from their disciplinary training.
A libation bowl invokes communal rituals, regardless of whether these involve wine, blood, honey, olive oil, water, or something else. As a concept, it is common across several ancient cultures, from the Sumerians in Mesopotamia and the ancient Egyptians to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and early Christians, as well as other parts of the ancient world outside the Mediterranean basin. The repetitive patterns may in themselves capture the repetitive nature of some rituals.
