Samoa Clubs
 

Samoa Club from ebay UK. hopefully with me next week.
My belated birthday gift to myself.

Blurb from vendor:

age: post-1940

length 42 inches

This club is a rare and very finely carved, finished and detailed traditional Samoan Toothed War Club called a Nifo Oti (in Samoan language), it is also known as the Teeth of Death. Today this club is used in the Tausala Samoa and Taupou Samoa dances for the official entertainment to consolidate the pride in the Samoan culture. This is the most traditional and documented of the Samoan War Clubs. It measures 42" inches in length. This particular item has been made by a most skillful, traditional woodcarver from the village of Uafato, in the remote Fagaloa Bay Area of Upolu Island in Western Samoa. This area of Samoa consists of eight villages, and it is here that all the hereditary traditional woodcarving families have lived for centuries. It was these families who always carved for the Samoan Royal families. This is a very finely made example, it is not an old example and probably dates from the mid to late 20th Century.


vendor did not supply an overall photo, so i merged the ones he did provide and tarted it up a bit: better ones to follow after arrival.

i note the pommel end has an attachment for a lanyard, which is apparently a bit uncommon but not unusual.

Even thought it is not a true antique, I think it is a wonderful modern interpretation of a traditional form. When you get it, please post more pictures. :D

A INTERESTING INTERPRETATION OF THE NIFO OTI FORM AND SAID TO BE FROM THE SAME VILLAGES AS SOME OF THE OTHER MODERN REPLICAS OF SAMOAN CLUBS. QUITE A LOT HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE DESIGN SO ITS NOT OLD STYLE TRADITIONAL BUT A WELL MADE, NICE LOOKING COLLECTIBLE PIECE OF ETHNOGRAPHIC ART FROM SAMOA. I LIKE IT. :)

it was cheap too! :) (compared to true antique ones)

i gather the carvers have been making clubs there for ages and i hope they still are. someone mentioned that the young villagers have aspirations above being a traditional carver of obsolete weaponry and thus the trade is carried on by old men who do not have someone to pass the skills on to. so many old craft skills have been lost over the last century due to the modern global economy and 'progress'.

THE PROBLEM WITH REPLICA CLUB PRODUCTION IN THE ISLANDS IS MOSTLY THE MARKET. THE MAIN SOURCE OF SALES IS TO TOURISTS WHO WANT A CHEAP SOUVENIR THAT FITS INTO THEIR SUITCASE. THE TOURIST SHOPS ONLY WANT TO BUY WHAT SELLS SO LARGE FULL SIZE ITEMS THAT JUST SIT AROUND THE SHOP ARE A HARD SELL. SO THE CARVERS CONCENTRATE ON WHAT THE DEALERS WANT WHICH IS SMALL ITEMS WITH LOTS OF DECORATIVE CARVING. WE END UP WITH NON TRADITIONAL CARVINGS FROM FIJI, TONGA OR EVEN DESIGNS NEVER USED ON WAR CLUBS BEFORE CARVED IN MANY PLACES THRU- OUT THE SOUTH PACIFIC. EVEN WORSE OFTEN LOCAL CARVERS WANT A DECENT PRICE FOR THEIR WORK SO SOME SELLERS IMPORT CHEAP SOUVENIRS MADE IN INDONESIA OR SOME OTHER PLACE TO SELL TO THE TOURISTS AS SAMOAN, FIJIAN ,ECT.
A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A SAMOAN SELLER ON EBAY WHO WAS OFFERING A NICE SELECTION OF THESE FULL SIZE WELL CARVED CLUBS FROM THESE VILLAGES IN SAMOA. I BOUGHT A NICE SELECTION BUT WHEN THE EBAY MARKET BECAME SATURATED THE DEALER STOPPED SELLING THEM SO LIKELY THE PRODUCTION OF THEM STOPPED IN SAMOA AS WELL. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE CARVERS AND SELLERS DON'T WANT A HOUSE FULL OF ITEMS THEY CAN NOT SELL SO SUPPLY AND DEMAND CONTROLS PRODUCTION. WHEN DEMAND STOPS THE OLDER ARTISTS OFTEN STOP DOING GOOD WORK OR WORKING AT ALL AND THE SKILLS ARE LOST.
I AM NOT A PURIST SO I WILL COLLECT CURRENT EXAMPLES OF GOOD WORK BECAUSE ITS NEAT AND IT SUPPORTS THE ARTISTS AND PRESERVES THE SKILLS. MANY ONLY WANT OLD PRECONTACT ITEMS WHICH IS GREAT IF YOU CAN FIND THEM AND AFFORD THEM. BUT A GOOD REPLICA OF SOMETHING YOU COULD NEVER FIND OR AFFORD IS ACCEPTABLE IN A COLLECTION ESPECIALLY IF IT IS CARVED IN COUNTRY BY THE DECEDENTS OF THE ORIGINAL SOCIETY.

club arrived this morning. 42 in. 1.35 kilos palm wood.

photos: