A hand club of the Maori, made of very hard, light-coloured wood. Hand clubs, dangerous weapons for fighting at close quarters, were generally called ‘patu’. But this special type was called ‘kotiate rakau’ (made out of wood). For there were also clubs made out of whalebone, called ‘kotiate paraoa’. ‘Kotiate’ clubs always had a flat club head, which was carved on both sides and on the front rounded area with sharp edges, like a sharp knife. Also very typical of this club form is the fact that in its middle it is retracted on both sides, like a violin. For this reason they are also called ‘violin clubs’. A special feature of our ‘violin club’ is the extremely beautifully worked ‘tiki’ head at the end of the handle. A masterful example of the best Maori art. This ‘tiki’ creature, viewed by the Maori as important ancestor (‘first man’) or as god of fertility, has a round head, large eyes, distended nostrils, and the ‘tiki’ sticks his large, long tongue out of his open round mouth with canine teeth – amongst the Maori, a gesture of great aggression. Below the head, the club is pierced. Here a short carrying strap made of braided leather is attached. Overall an object in excellent condition, with a good, ‘soft’ worn usage patina. With the exception of two minimal indentations, at the front on the sharp wooden edge, this rare piece has no damage. L: 33 cm, W: 11 cm; ca. 2 cm thick (the head). About 1900 or earlier.

Provenance: According to the consignor, purchased from an English previous owner. In an accompanying letter (extant in copy), the previous owner writes that this Maori club was purchased by his grandfather, a soldier in the British army, in New Zealand in around 1915. In the same condition (therefore it was already old at that time). Since then, in the possession of the family. Currently: German Private Collection. (ME).

Lit.: ‘Art and Artefacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas. The James Hooper Collection’ by Stephen Phelps, p. 55: fig. 213, 214, 215, p. 57: fig. 223, 224; ‘Polynesia. The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection’ by Adrienne L. Kaeppler, fig. 488, 496: ‘Ozeanische Kunst’ by Anthony J. P. Meyer, fig. 644.