Marquesan, French Polynesia
Circa 1800
Bone
Height: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Provenance: Gustave and Franyo Schindler, New York
The ivi poʻo is a small carved bone object specific to the Marquesas Islands, used as a toggle, fan handle, and worn in the hair in contexts signaling that the wearer had an outstanding vendetta to carry out. Its multiple functions and the social weight attached to its use place it among the more culturally specific personal objects in Marquesan material culture. This example dates to circa 1800 and carries provenance through Gustave and Franyo Schindler of New York, a significant mid-twentieth-century collection of Oceanic and tribal art.
The object is carved from bone in a cylindrical form with a tiki face covering the full exterior, the large circular eyes, brow ridges, and mouth rendered in the characteristic Marquesan figural vocabulary applied across wood, bone, and stone carving of the period. The surface has developed a warm ivory tone through age, with the carved detail remaining crisp and well-defined throughout. The piece is mounted on a custom acrylic display stand.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Marquesan, French Polynesia
Circa 1800
Bone
Height: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Provenance: Gustave and Franyo Schindler, New York
The ivi poʻo is a small carved bone object specific to the Marquesas Islands, used as a toggle, fan handle, and worn in the hair in contexts signaling that the wearer had an outstanding vendetta to carry out. Its multiple functions and the social weight attached to its use place it among the more culturally specific personal objects in Marquesan material culture. This example dates to circa 1800 and carries provenance through Gustave and Franyo Schindler of New York, a significant mid-twentieth-century collection of Oceanic and tribal art.
The object is carved from bone in a cylindrical form with a tiki face covering the full exterior, the large circular eyes, brow ridges, and mouth rendered in the characteristic Marquesan figural vocabulary applied across wood, bone, and stone carving of the period. The surface has developed a warm ivory tone through age, with the carved detail remaining crisp and well-defined throughout. The piece is mounted on a custom acrylic display stand.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
