length 12 1/4in (31cm)

Provenance
Marjorie and Professor Sydney Musgrove, Auckland, New Zealand, acquired in 1933
Professor Musgrove was the head of Auckland University English Department from 1947-1979 and a distinguished Shakespearean scholar. The Musgroves were part of the Auckland North Shore literati and art scene. Their daughter, the late Dame Judith Binney, married the artist Don Binney, well known for his bird paintings. Judith Binney was a writer, New Zealand historian and scholar of Maori history and Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Auckland.
Thence by descent
Ben Hunter, Auckland, New Zealand
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Possibly carved for someone of high rank, such as a chief (ariki) or at least a lineage elder, with incised design representative of Tikopia and Anuta tattoo designs. (Patrick V. Kirch, Ph.D., personal communication)

This exceedingly rare ceremonial headrest--as few as only five others purported to be known in German museums--is finely carved in the form of a stylized bird with a contoured, rounded body, conical head incised eyes and mouth, a finely carved squared, plank-form tail tapering outwards and gradually up, terminating with a stylized feathered end with four pronged elements; the whole resting on a squared base and highlighted throughout with red and black linear markings in diamond and parallel-line design; elegant, light-brown patina with natural wear indicative of much cultural use.

Polynesia includes thousands of islands located within the "Polynesian Triangle" of Hawai'i to the north, Easter Island to the south east and New Zealand to the south west. Outside of the Polynesian Triangle are about two dozen islands located in the geographic boundaries of Melanesia and Micronesia, but their inhabitants speak Polynesian languages. These islands are collectively called the Polynesian "outliers." In addition to speaking Polynesian languages, the residents also share common physical, cultural and political traits. Archaeological and anthropological research has determined that these islands were populated by the Polynesians through a reverse migration. (Feinberg, Richard and Richard Scaglion, Polynesian Outliers - The State of the Art, The University of Pittsburg, 2012, p. 1)

As noted by Robert Craig, "Birds are common in Polynesian myths perhaps because of their unique character of being able to fly through the heavens--something that most other living creatures cannot do. Because of this uniqueness, most birds are regarded as having a sacred nature, sacred enough to become the messengers of gods and, in many cases, incarnations of the gods themselves. In Sāmoa, for example, Turi was the bird messenger of the god Tagaloa during the creation, and in the story of Tinirau, Rupe took the form of a pigeon and flew down to rescue Sina and her son. Other legends tell similar stories of birds and their interactions with humans. Many birds have the ability to speak--pigeons, plovers, snipes, ducks, and mud hens--and others are gigantic in size, large enough to carry humans from one island to another. Some even have the power of witchcraft.

In some island groups, it was believed that deceased ancestors sometimes returned to their families in the form of birds for one reason or another. Polynesians also believed that birds (especially white ones) were shadows of the gods, and every island group identified their many different birds with their representative deities.[. . .]

Ancient Polynesian's knowledge of birds was exhaustive and extraordinarily detailed. During their long oceangoing travels in their large double canoes, Polynesians relied on birds to help direct them to their remote destinations. It is also said that the ancient Polynesians used to send handcrafted pearl fishhooks from one island to another tied to the legs of birds, and today, we hear of other islanders who communicate by sending messages back and forth to friends on other islands, similar to the use of carrier pigeons elsewhere in the world." (Handbook of Polynesian Mythology, ABC-CLIO, Inc., Santa Barbara, 2004, p. 65)