Maori Long Club/Fighting Staff, New Zealand
taiaha
Wood, paua shell
height 60 3/4in (154.3cm)
Provenance:
Louis Lemaire, Amsterdam
Private Collection, Netherlands, acquired from the above in 1980
With inlaid paua shell eyes and finely incised with decoration on the point of the staff, however unfinished on one side; fine, reddish-brown patina.
It is of note to observe that one side of the staff point is unfinished. Most likely, the artist died before completing his work, and because it was considered taboo for another artist to finish the work in fear of disrupting the mana of the people in general, it would have been intentionally left unfinished.
Wood, paua shell
height 60 3/4in (154.3cm)
Provenance:
Louis Lemaire, Amsterdam
Private Collection, Netherlands, acquired from the above in 1980
With inlaid paua shell eyes and finely incised with decoration on the point of the staff, however unfinished on one side; fine, reddish-brown patina.
It is of note to observe that one side of the staff point is unfinished. Most likely, the artist died before completing his work, and because it was considered taboo for another artist to finish the work in fear of disrupting the mana of the people in general, it would have been intentionally left unfinished.
Sold for
US$ 3,750
inc. premium
Category: Ethnographic Art / African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art
Auction terms and conditions
Contacts
Fredric Backlar
Bonhams
Work
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Los Angeles,
90046
United States
WorkTel:
+1 323 436 5416
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Specialist
-
African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art
