CARVING VARIATIONS ON OCEANIC CLUBS

[Tim Simmons]

What does the whole thing look like? This form of club in the publications I have say they are from Malaita Island and subsequently known as Malaita clubs. The decoration is very interesting, the way it fits the form so well. The fact that the design of the decortation is so formal and strongly cruciform, it does make me wonder wether this was made after missionary contamination or should I say influence.

[laEspadaAncha]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

The fact that the design of the decortation is so formal and strongly cruciform, it does make me wonder wether this was made after missionary contamination or should I say influence.

Hi Tim,

I wondered the same - I showed it to two friends - one thought it was intended to follow the cruciform pattern of an intended representation of a cross, while the other thought it simply followed the natural vertical and horizontal axes of the club.

Anyway, here's the full club:



I look forward to your thoughts on the same...

[Tim Simmons]

I think it is really nice and I want one most desperately. It could well be just that the decoration fits the form. The cross as a motif is not the exclusive property of "christianity" The use of a formal structured line in decoration is common. On this club the decoration is very bold and solid which seems to suggest a cross more than just following the form. Even after colonial and missionary governance, clubs would still be carried for minor tribal dispute and as part of general attire? This link is interesting, the first man struck dead is by a gun but used as a club. Could it be that by this time anybody who was anybody wanted to be seen with a gun? even if they had no bullets?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaita_massacre

[laEspadaAncha]

Thank you Tim - I appreciate the input.

Great information as well - I was until now completely ignorant of the incident to which you provided a link. So do you feel pretty confident in your Malaita attribution? Any ideas or thoughts as to a possible time frame - would you suggest a time frame somewhere around or about the time of the massacre, or possibly earlier?

Rgds,

Chris

[Tim Simmons]

It is so hard to tell. As you can read in the link the amount of outsiders in this part of the world in the early 1920s was only circa 600. I myself feel the motif is a cross as in missionary influence but I am not an expert. Not all the peoples in the area put up resistance. This club could be late 19th century? it is probably best to just think of early 20th century. I could say it does not look old but then just look at items in the thread "Wallace Collection" and you can see old stuff can indeed look very recent .

I am going off at a tangent now and I hope it is okay with the moderators, it does fit the area of disscusion. So much of our interest here involves discovery. I found this whale tooth object early this year and thought it from the Solomons. Latter I found this stuff from "Pacific Encounters, Art and Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860, Steven Hooper, the British Museum press" I have emailed CMAA pictures and ref number of the object in the CMAA "Cambridge University of Archeology and Anthropology" I have had no reply. As you now can scan harmful attachments from nutters I can only assume that recieving no reply is through institutional jealousy. I am now forced to seek information at some fancy auction house. My object is only 66mm long and only carved on one side, clearly a pendant.