Tongan Islands Headrest, kali toloni, Kingdom of Tonga
length 19 1/2in (49.5cm)
the long, round bar serving as the pillow, connected with sennit bindings to low, wide arching legs ending in diminutive feet; fine and smooth reddish brown patina.
Provenance:
Purportedly Hurst Gallery, Massachusetts
Private Collection, Paris
Private Collection, Chicago
Of the Tongan neckrests, known as kali, this type, kali toloni, known by its three piece construction and use of a pole as pillow, is the least common and considered the most elegant. Used mainly by Tongan chiefs (St. Cartmail, 1997), this example is of a particularly enticing proportion being quite long, wide and low in stance. It has a numeric reference in red ink under the pillow, 1961.9.
the long, round bar serving as the pillow, connected with sennit bindings to low, wide arching legs ending in diminutive feet; fine and smooth reddish brown patina.
Provenance:
Purportedly Hurst Gallery, Massachusetts
Private Collection, Paris
Private Collection, Chicago
Of the Tongan neckrests, known as kali, this type, kali toloni, known by its three piece construction and use of a pole as pillow, is the least common and considered the most elegant. Used mainly by Tongan chiefs (St. Cartmail, 1997), this example is of a particularly enticing proportion being quite long, wide and low in stance. It has a numeric reference in red ink under the pillow, 1961.9.
Sold for
US$ 5,185
inc. premium
Category: Ethnographic Art / African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art
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