Null Akau club
Tonga
Wood
L. 119 cm
Beautiful wooden club entirely covered with …

Description

Akau club Tonga Wood L. 119 cm Beautiful wooden club entirely covered with engravings. This decoration is made of straight lines compartmentalizing the surface, broken lines, and representations of stylized frigates. A double band in relief appears on two thirds of the handle. Very nice patina attesting to the age of the piece.

19

Akau club Tonga Wood L. 119 cm Beautiful wooden club entirely covered with engravings. This decoration is made of straight lines compartmentalizing the surface, broken lines, and representations of stylized frigates. A double band in relief appears on two thirds of the handle. Very nice patina attesting to the age of the piece.

Auction is over for this lot. See the results

You may also like

Estim. 2 500 - 3 000 EUR

Bowai club Fiji or Tonga Islands Wood Height: 62cm Provenance: - Former collection from south-west France The perfectly linear handle ends in a beautifully rounded shape. The soft, shiny, light brown patina is matched by the finely engraved geometrical motifs. A weapon of prestige, combat and social status, the delicacy of its decoration sums up the paradox of these sublime works originally intended for warriors. Beautiful shaded patina.

Estim. 3 000 - 3 500 EUR

Club Called kailao. Futuna Island or Tonga, French Polynesia. Wood 19th century Height: 98cm This elegant club features the plastic characteristics attributed to pate clubs, accessories used during the "club dances" known in Tonga and Wallis & Futuna as kailao. These traditional warrior choreographies, mainly for men, feature mock battles in which pate clubs are struck on the ground to the beat of drums. The straight, oval-section handle is extended by a foliate blade, the two parts being distinctively linked by a ring carved in relief. The blade is divided symmetrically in two by a median rib running the full length of the blade, reinforcing the verticality of the composition. The entire piece is covered with finely engraved geometric motifs on the surface.

Estim. 3 000 - 4 000 EUR

Wooden akau tau club Tonga Island (casuarina equisetifolia) Height: 86 cm Provenance - Former collection from southwest France Beautiful akua tau club, entirely engraved with alternating bands of geometric and zigzag motifs, giving its surface a rhythm. The finesse and delicacy of the engraved decoration reveal the importance of this club, a weapon that was a remarkable badge of prestige, reflecting the importance of the warrior. The middle part is carved with two excrescences surmounted by a rare "V" decoration separating the cylindrical grip from the flattened upper part. Beautiful light brown patina.

Estim. 3 500 - 5 000 EUR

Akau or Apa Apai prestige club, Tonga Islands French Polynesia Wood, marine ivory Length: 111 cm Provenance: British private collection British private collection Didier Zanette Collection French private collection This club exalts in its features all the decorative complexity of the prestigious akau, whose art of surface engraving has been identified as one of the "most complex historical art systems in Oceania". (Andy Mills, In "Akau Tau: Contextualising Tongan war-clubs", 2009) A marvel of refinement, it shows us the quintessence of a graphic composition organized around an assembly of geometric motifs, whose variations and asymmetries reinforce their ornamental power. Added to this is the striking contrast between the warmth of the dark wood and the dazzling purity of the marine ivory, testifying to the magnificence of this club. In Tonga, akau clubs were made from a precious wood called toa (Casuarina equisetifolia) or "ironwood", recognized as both a formidable weapon and a status symbol. The most prestigious versions were meticulously carved all over, decorated with geometric or figurative motifs. Some were also embellished with marine ivory inlays, representing celestial elements or stylized animals. The presence of these ornaments on our object attests to the considerable prestige attributed to it, and by extension to the high status of its original owner - chief or priest. This refined skill in inlaying seems to have been a speciality of Tongan and Samoan craftsmen, exported to the Fiji islands where they went to work, as it was there that the wood needed to build the great sailing pirogues was found. Akau were used in many contexts, highlighting their importance as social, cultural, spiritual and religious symbols within Tongan society. First and foremost, of course, in combat and warfare, but these weapons were also used in sport, as part of peacetime martial arts events. Clubs were also part of the regalia of eiki chiefs, along with fans, fly swatters and speaker's scepters, testifying to the prestige and grandeur of these elites. Because of the mana, the spiritual force contained within them, objects that proved effective in combat were given the status of persons, endowed with a name, sensitivity and clairvoyance. Finally, in a religious context, weapons were placed in temples in order to acquire the mana of the divinity, itself becoming a supernatural entity that conferred power and talent on the warrior who used it. Within a highly diversified corpus in terms of shapes and motifs, our club belongs to the category of "bow-headed akau", defined by Andy Mills in his article "Akau Tau: Contextualising Tongan war-clubs", published in 2009. This typology is distinguished by its straight, round cross-section handle, connected by a raised ring, to the paddle-shaped blade crossed by a median rib along its entire length. The author also suggests that these clubs may be the ancestors of the pate sticks used in the traditional kailao warrior dance, rather than actual combat weapons, due to their uncanny resemblance.

Online payments are secured by Ingenico and encrypted transactions.

Each lot has been authenticated and appraised by an Auction House.

Consult our FAQ or contact us

Composed of several subsidiaries, the Drouot Group is a major player in the art market. Hôtel Drouot, located in the heart of Paris, has been the world's largest public auction center since 1852. 15 salerooms are available to more than 70 auction houses. The emulation generated by an annual offer of 230,000 artworks from 21 major specialities - from Antiquity to street art - attracts some 3,000 visitors every day. The Group's digital platform, Drouot.com, offers digital sales - Live auctions (live broadcasting and participation in auctions), Online-only auctions (dematerialised auctions) and Buy Now sales (sales of lots at fixed prices). Nearly 2 million items are offered annually by 600 auction houses. Auction news is reported every week in La Gazette Drouot, the leading weekly magazine for the art market and culture published by Auctionspress.

More about Drouot

Drouot certified auction houses

Contacts

HÔTEL DROUOT

9, rue Drouot 75009 Paris, France

+33 (0)1 48 00 20 00

[email protected]

DROUOT.com

[email protected]