Description:

Oceania, Melanesia, Solomon Islands, ca. late 19th to mid-20th century CE. This is a fine gathering of 3 spear shafts, each hand crafted from bamboo, wood, rattan, and barbed tips made from fish bones and wood. All three are similar in construction: assembled from two pieces - the lower shaft is lightweight bamboo with a durable palmwood tip set into the top. Finely woven rattan strips encircle and bind the wood together. The longest is slender with 8 fish bones attached to the palmwood with coiled rattan and pitch. The next spear is missing most of the barbs but is similarly hafted together. The last is etched with linear decorations just before the barbed blade - each spike carved from the palmwood. These pointed barbs are meant to anchor themselves within the body of the prey and allow the hunter to safely remove most of the spear without compromising their weapon. Size of largest: 52.25" L x 0.5" W (132.7 cm x 1.3 cm); 52.75" H (134 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, 1995-2010; ex-John DuPont collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#168513

  • Condition: Losses to woven rattan fibers and chips to blade and missing barbs on the thickest spear. Loss to bamboo tip of longest spear. Chips to wooden barbs on the shortest spear, but otherwise intact. Great patina throughout all.

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January 13, 2022 10:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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