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| Image | Sale date | Auction house | Location | Sale name | Lot No. | Estimate | Price Sold | Condition | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 13, 2023 | Bonhams | New York | African and Oceanic Art | 14 | $****** - ****** | Superb Two-Handled Club, Tonga Islands |
other
101 cm (39.75 in)
Wood
Oregon Private Collection
Keith St. Cartmail notes, "The favourite Tongan weapon was the long two-handed war club. Its primary use was to kill people. Sometimes, however, it would be used to kill pigs. On other occasions, the club would be used for ceremonial purposes, or even for dancing...(and) entertainment...
...An outstanding and aesthetic feature of many Tongan clubs is the distinctive quality of their surface designs...A common design was the zigzag "rat tooth" motif. Equally, Tongan carvers were fond of dividing the surface decoration of the club into quadrangular compartments of design elements--chevrons and short bands of parallel lines among which were to be found charming naively-abstract human and zoomorphic figures including pigs, dogs, lizards and turtles, together with warriors with and without clubs, trees, flying birds, sharks, a European sailing vessel, anchors, squares, circles...and other abstract shapes and designs...
...The skills of the tufunga artist/craftsman are seen at their best in their detailed surface carving of these war clubs. Before such fine work could begin, however, the carver would use a hafted adze or wooden mounted basalt chisel. The exquisite engraving was then achieved by using a shark"s tooth usually lashed with plaited coir-sinnet binding in the end of a round wooden handle. Despite the extreme hardness of the wood, the skilled engraver would quickly and deftly notch in his zigzag or other designs until the decoration was complete." ( The Art of Tonga , University of Hawai"i Press, Honolulu, 1997, pp. 126-135)
Finely carved, most likely without the use of metal tools, the rounded shaft gradually forming a diamond form at the top; exquisite incised geometric designs covering the surface throughout with nearly thirty glyphs depicting anthropomorphic and zoomorphic designs, and various symbols; fine honey-brown patina.
Cf. Hooper, Steven, Power and Prestige - The Art of Clubs in Oceania , Skira, Milan, 2021, fig. 47.
Superb Two-Handled Club, Tonga Islands
"akau
Wood
Length 39 3/4in (101cm)
