Description:

Oceania, Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), ca. early 20th century CE. A large, hand-carved and highly-polished wooden ceremonial war club, adorned with large, curved horns, probably from a cow, one of the domesticated species introduced to the islands by Europeans. The head is in the form of an abstract face, with further small, anthropomorphic faces carved roughly halfway down the handle and then also carved around the butt of the handle. Twine holds the horns in place. Wooden war clubs are common throughout Polynesia, but the face-shape is distinctive to the Marquesas, where the native name for a war club is "u'u." The motif seen on this club and ones like it are found throughout Marquesan carvings, including on wooden bowls and ear ornaments. They also would have been mirrored on the tattooed skin of the warrior who wielded the club, instantly recognizable to members of the culture as having a particular regional and personal identity. Size: 9.1" W x 48.25" H (23.1 cm x 122.6 cm); 50.25" H (127.6 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection

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#133464

  • Condition: Smooth, rich patina on the wood and horns. Small chips and nicks commensurate with age.

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May 24, 2018 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000