Fijian
Early 19th century
Hardwood
Length: 34 3/4 in. (88.3 cm)
Provenance: California trade
The totokia is a Fijian weapon classified by scholar Fergus Clunie as a beaked battlehammer, its function concentrated in the projecting point of the head rather than the wide arc of other club forms. Clunie describes the weapon as designed to penetrate skulls in an abrupt, vicious stabbing blow, and notes it was equally suited to open combat and to dispatching fallen warriors on the battlefield. The type was associated with chiefs and warriors of established reputation, and individual named totokia carried histories of specific battles.
The club is carved from dense hardwood with a long, gently curved handle rising to a large faceted bulbous head terminating in a pronounced projecting beak, the form that prompted European collectors to describe the type as a pineapple club, though the head is also linked by commentators to the pandanus fruit. The wood displays a deep warm reddish-brown tone with a smooth, well-developed patina across the handle and a darker, denser surface on the head. The piece is presented on a heavy custom display mount.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Fijian
Early 19th century
Hardwood
Length: 34 3/4 in. (88.3 cm)
Provenance: California trade
The totokia is a Fijian weapon classified by scholar Fergus Clunie as a beaked battlehammer, its function concentrated in the projecting point of the head rather than the wide arc of other club forms. Clunie describes the weapon as designed to penetrate skulls in an abrupt, vicious stabbing blow, and notes it was equally suited to open combat and to dispatching fallen warriors on the battlefield. The type was associated with chiefs and warriors of established reputation, and individual named totokia carried histories of specific battles.
The club is carved from dense hardwood with a long, gently curved handle rising to a large faceted bulbous head terminating in a pronounced projecting beak, the form that prompted European collectors to describe the type as a pineapple club, though the head is also linked by commentators to the pandanus fruit. The wood displays a deep warm reddish-brown tone with a smooth, well-developed patina across the handle and a darker, denser surface on the head. The piece is presented on a heavy custom display mount.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
