Oceania, Polynesia, probably Tonga, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A long, heavy, dark wood club, also known as an akau, with a long, gently broadening handle and a striking end with a deeply ridged surface that resembles a folded-up umbrella. This ends in a sharp, conical point. Tongan clubs, like many other Polynesian war clubs, struck the European imagination deeply, with the first knowledge of these objects outside of Polynesia coming from Captain Cook's voyages. George Forster, who accompanied Cook on his second expedition, wrote in his 1773 "A Voyage Round the World," "the clubs of the people of this isle, were of an infinite variety of shapes, and many of them so ponderous that we could scarce manage them with one hand…by far the greatest part were carved all over in many chequered patterns, which seemed to have required a long space of time, and incredible patience…the whole surface of the plain clubs was as highly polished , as if our best workmen had made them with the best instruments." Size: 1.45" W x 30.75" H (3.7 cm x 78.1 cm)

Provenance: private Chicago, USA collection, acquired in the 1980s; ex museum collection, marked 1915

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#132350

Rich, dark patina from age and handling.