Inventory no.: 4109

Carved Wooden Short Club (Wahaika), Maori, New Zealand, circa 1900

SOLD

Carved Wooden Short Club (Wahaika)

Maori, People, New Zealand

circa 1900

length: 42cm, width: 12.6cm

This finely carved Maori wooden club (wahaika) has a varying, lustrous brown patina suggesting a dating to around 1900 and possibly earlier.

The blade is carved in relief all over on both sides with interlocking

whakarare bands.

The top of the lower part of the blade is carved with a reclining

wheku humanoid figure and the handle section finished with a finial carved with a human head. The base of the handle has been drilled with a hole through which flax cord would have been threaded to allow the club to be tied to the wrist.

The term ‘wahaika’ translates as ‘fish mouth’ – a reference to the shape of the blade. Such clubs were not intended to be used in actual warfare but more in mock battles and dances. They were also worn as chiefly regalia items, usually through a belt.

A similar example with a carved blade in Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum is illustrated in Linton & Wingert (1972, p. 53). Two more are illustrated in Dodd (1967, p. 155). Another, in the collection of the University of Glasgow, can be seen

here

.

The example here is in fine condition, without cracks, splits, significant chips, or repairs. There are some areas that have been won flat, but overall, the patina is fine and the age is clear.

References

Dodd, E., The Ring of Fire: Polynesian Art, Dodd Mead & Co, 1967.

Linton, R. & P. S. Wingert,

Arts of the South Seas, The Museum of Modern Art, 1972.

Starzecka, D. C., R. Neich & M. Pendergrast,

The Maori Collections of the British Museum, British Museum Press, 2010.

Wardwell, A.,

Island Ancestors: Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1994.

Provenance

UK art market

Inventory no.: 4109

SOLD