Mangaia, Cook Islands, Polynesia
1840s
Wood, sennit, sharkskin, basalt
Height: 29 in. (73.7 cm)
Provenance: London trade
The ruatangaeo is among the most formally distinctive ceremonial adze types in Polynesia, produced on Mangaia in the Cook Islands and connected to chiefly status, skilled craftsmanship, and ceremonial exchange. Some forms within this category have been understood as related to carved deity figures, situating them within Mangaian ritual practice rather than functional tool use. By the 1840s, Mangaian carvers were also producing ruatangaeo for the foreign trade market while maintaining the formal vocabulary established in earlier chiefly and ritual production.
The shaft is carved in the pedestal form characteristic of the type, with densely worked geometric relief carving across its full length and a terminal finial at the base. The basalt blade is hafted and secured with finely plaited sennit lashing over a sharkskin binding at the head junction. The overall condition of the lashing and binding is consistent with a nineteenth-century example that has been carefully preserved.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Mangaia, Cook Islands, Polynesia
1840s
Wood, sennit, sharkskin, basalt
Height: 29 in. (73.7 cm)
Provenance: London trade
The ruatangaeo is among the most formally distinctive ceremonial adze types in Polynesia, produced on Mangaia in the Cook Islands and connected to chiefly status, skilled craftsmanship, and ceremonial exchange. Some forms within this category have been understood as related to carved deity figures, situating them within Mangaian ritual practice rather than functional tool use. By the 1840s, Mangaian carvers were also producing ruatangaeo for the foreign trade market while maintaining the formal vocabulary established in earlier chiefly and ritual production.
The shaft is carved in the pedestal form characteristic of the type, with densely worked geometric relief carving across its full length and a terminal finial at the base. The basalt blade is hafted and secured with finely plaited sennit lashing over a sharkskin binding at the head junction. The overall condition of the lashing and binding is consistent with a nineteenth-century example that has been carefully preserved.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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