Hawaiian
19th century
Basalt (volcanic)
Length: 14 in. (35.6 cm); Height: 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm)
Provenance: Alfred J. Ostheimer, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi; Antiquarian Auction Company, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi; Gary Seering, Aiea, Hawaiʻi; private collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Kuʻula were stone figures placed at fishing shrines along the Hawaiian coastline, understood to embody the deity associated with fishing abundance and to attract fish to the surrounding waters. Shrines of this type, known as kuʻula ko'a, were maintained by fishing families and hereditary fishing specialists, and the figures were treated with offerings and ritual attention. This example has been handled by the current dealer on three separate occasions over a forty-year period, tracing a consistent collecting history within Hawaiʻi.
The figure is carved in the form of the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, the rectangular triggerfish now designated as the state fish of Hawaiʻi, rendered in dense volcanic basalt with the distinctive profile and fin forms of the species clearly articulated. The vesicular surface texture of the basalt is retained across the body, with the form shaped through sustained abrasion rather than fine carving. The scale and material are consistent with kuʻula figures documented in institutional and published collections.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hawaiian
19th century
Basalt (volcanic)
Length: 14 in. (35.6 cm); Height: 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm)
Provenance: Alfred J. Ostheimer, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi; Antiquarian Auction Company, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi; Gary Seering, Aiea, Hawaiʻi; private collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Kuʻula were stone figures placed at fishing shrines along the Hawaiian coastline, understood to embody the deity associated with fishing abundance and to attract fish to the surrounding waters. Shrines of this type, known as kuʻula ko'a, were maintained by fishing families and hereditary fishing specialists, and the figures were treated with offerings and ritual attention. This example has been handled by the current dealer on three separate occasions over a forty-year period, tracing a consistent collecting history within Hawaiʻi.
The figure is carved in the form of the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, the rectangular triggerfish now designated as the state fish of Hawaiʻi, rendered in dense volcanic basalt with the distinctive profile and fin forms of the species clearly articulated. The vesicular surface texture of the basalt is retained across the body, with the form shaped through sustained abrasion rather than fine carving. The scale and material are consistent with kuʻula figures documented in institutional and published collections.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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