Mangaia, Cook Islands
1840s
Wood, sennit, shark skin, basalt
Height 29 in / 73.7 cm
Provenance: London Trade
Mangaian ceremonial adzes are among the most distinctive forms of Polynesian ritual and prestige objects. This example, known as a ruatangaeo, has a carved pedestal-form shaft, finely worked sennit lashing, shark skin binding, and a polished basalt blade. Such adzes were connected to status, wealth, skilled craftsmanship, and ceremonial exchange, with some forms understood as related to carved deity figures. In the 19th century, Mangaian carvers also produced these objects for foreign trade, while retaining the formal vocabulary of earlier ritual and chiefly objects.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
Mangaia, Cook Islands
1840s
Wood, sennit, shark skin, basalt
Height 29 in / 73.7 cm
Provenance: London Trade
Mangaian ceremonial adzes are among the most distinctive forms of Polynesian ritual and prestige objects. This example, known as a ruatangaeo, has a carved pedestal-form shaft, finely worked sennit lashing, shark skin binding, and a polished basalt blade. Such adzes were connected to status, wealth, skilled craftsmanship, and ceremonial exchange, with some forms understood as related to carved deity figures. In the 19th century, Mangaian carvers also produced these objects for foreign trade, while retaining the formal vocabulary of earlier ritual and chiefly objects.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
Image 1 of 10
Image 2 of 10
Image 3 of 10
Image 4 of 10
Image 5 of 10
Image 6 of 10
Image 7 of 10
Image 8 of 10
Image 9 of 10
Image 10 of 10