Vintage carved and painted yerba mate gourd, 1 piece

Beautiful illustrated vintage yerba mate gourd, the traditional tea cup!

The traditional way of preparing and enjoying yerba mate tea is by using a gourd and a bombilla. Yerba mate tea gourd, or a cup, was originally developed by the Guarani people of South America.

The traditional gourd is made from a fruit of a gourd vine, a calabash squash, which vary in shape and size and possess a very hard shell. The gourd plant belongs to the family of Cucurbitaceae.

In addition to the traditional gourd, there are many different types of gourds that can be made from various materials. Mate gourds also come in different shapes.

A round gourd is usually a small one used by a single person. A “neck” gourd is typically a larger one, which can be passed around in a mate circle. There are also cylinder-shaped gourds, which are often made from bamboo and used mainly for drinking tereré (ice-cold mate tea).

Read more here.

Beautiful, illustrated, vintage.