Cassandra D'Cruz
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Lot 1
Three stone currencies, Yap Island
13 November 2018, 11:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$17,500 inc. premium
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Three stone currencies, Yap Island
rai
diameters 11in, 14 1/2in and 14 3/4in (28cm, 36.8cm and 37cm)
Provenance
Dee McVay, during his duty in the Pacific throughout World War II, who later became a well-known diver
Thence by descent
Each carved from calcite, the irregularly shaped circular disks pierced through the center and with natural stone undulations on the surface.
According to Barbara Wavell (Arts and Crafts of Micronesia, Bess Press, 2010, pp 77-78), "Yap is known throughout the world for its giant stone money. Sometimes taller than the height of a man, this money is the largest and, many say, the most unusual form of money in the world. It consists of stone wheels of crystallized calcite shaped like millstones that are mined in Palau, 250 miles from Yap, and originally transported across the ocean on rafts attached to outrigger canoes. Many Yapese were killed in storms and accidents during transport, and, therefore, stone money was relatively rare, as well as somewhat restricted in size. These stone wheels, called rai, could be as small as seven inches across but were mined in larger and larger sizes once European traders [. . .] supplied iron tools for mining and began to transport the stone wheels on sailing ships."
diameters 11in, 14 1/2in and 14 3/4in (28cm, 36.8cm and 37cm)
Provenance
Dee McVay, during his duty in the Pacific throughout World War II, who later became a well-known diver
Thence by descent
Each carved from calcite, the irregularly shaped circular disks pierced through the center and with natural stone undulations on the surface.
According to Barbara Wavell (Arts and Crafts of Micronesia, Bess Press, 2010, pp 77-78), "Yap is known throughout the world for its giant stone money. Sometimes taller than the height of a man, this money is the largest and, many say, the most unusual form of money in the world. It consists of stone wheels of crystallized calcite shaped like millstones that are mined in Palau, 250 miles from Yap, and originally transported across the ocean on rafts attached to outrigger canoes. Many Yapese were killed in storms and accidents during transport, and, therefore, stone money was relatively rare, as well as somewhat restricted in size. These stone wheels, called rai, could be as small as seven inches across but were mined in larger and larger sizes once European traders [. . .] supplied iron tools for mining and began to transport the stone wheels on sailing ships."
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