oceania | New Caledonia
Kanak War Club
New Caledonia
Porowa ra maru “bird head” club
Carved wood
Late 19th or early 20th century
Height: 29 ¾ in. – 75.5 cm
Provenance
Ex private collection, Nash Court, Kent, UK
Ex collection Peter Petrou, London
Ex Christie’s London, 30 January 2019, lot 131
Ex private collection, UK
Kanak Bird head club 75.5 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York states that the distinctively shaped porowa ra maru, or "bird head" clubs of New Caledonia were prestigious objects created for use by chiefs. The clubs symbolized wealth and high rank, and on some occasions served as gifts during ceremonial exchanges.
The top of the clubs are carved in the form of stylized bird heads typically distinguished, as here, by long, pointed beaks. However, as none of New Caledonia's indigenous birds have a similar beak, some scholars have suggested that the image instead represents the head of a sea turtle with its projecting, beaklike mouth.
The top of the clubs are carved in the form of stylized bird heads typically distinguished, as here, by long, pointed beaks. However, as none of New Caledonia's indigenous birds have a similar beak, some scholars have suggested that the image instead represents the head of a sea turtle with its projecting, beaklike mouth.
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