San Cristobal Island, Makira Province, Solomon Islands
19th century
Ironwood; custom metal base
Height: 108 in / 274 cm
Peter Stratford, New Zealand; Texas private collection; Art Loss Register certificate provided, #S00254483
A 19th-century figurative house post from San Cristobal Island in the Eastern Solomon Islands, carved from dense ironwood. The post once served as a structural support for a community men’s house, or Aofa, associated with sacred canoes and bonito fishing rites. The seated ancestral figure is shown with chiefly regalia, including a carved cowrie-shell headband, frigate bird crown, ear ornaments, nose ornament, shell leg bands, and lime container with lime stick for betel preparation.
The upper section includes bonito tail motifs and serpentine forms connected with sea-snake imagery, while the lower panels show frigate birds and bonito, both central to the ritual and symbolic world of the bonito hunt. The ironwood surface has weathered to a grey patina from long exposure to coastal air. The scale, carving, and documented Art Loss Register certificate support its place as a featured work within the Oceanic collection. A custom metal base is included for display.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
San Cristobal Island, Makira Province, Solomon Islands
19th century
Ironwood; custom metal base
Height: 108 in / 274 cm
Peter Stratford, New Zealand; Texas private collection; Art Loss Register certificate provided, #S00254483
A 19th-century figurative house post from San Cristobal Island in the Eastern Solomon Islands, carved from dense ironwood. The post once served as a structural support for a community men’s house, or Aofa, associated with sacred canoes and bonito fishing rites. The seated ancestral figure is shown with chiefly regalia, including a carved cowrie-shell headband, frigate bird crown, ear ornaments, nose ornament, shell leg bands, and lime container with lime stick for betel preparation.
The upper section includes bonito tail motifs and serpentine forms connected with sea-snake imagery, while the lower panels show frigate birds and bonito, both central to the ritual and symbolic world of the bonito hunt. The ironwood surface has weathered to a grey patina from long exposure to coastal air. The scale, carving, and documented Art Loss Register certificate support its place as a featured work within the Oceanic collection. A custom metal base is included for display.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
