Club Taiaha Maori Wood, pigments, feathers, plant fibers Height: 166 cm Provenance: Private collection, Vancouver Private collection, Vancouver French private collection Distinguished by its exceptionally well-preserved feather ornament, this two-handed taiaha club is a marvellous embodiment of the Maori artistic tradition, where the practice of art majestically converges with that of war. Legend has it that the god of war ???? commissioned ??????????????????????????, the weapon-maker to the gods, to create the most powerful weapon in the world. Thus was created Akerautangi, the father of all taiaha. This work corresponds to the classic ethetics of taiaha clubs, as described by Augustus Hamilton in 1896: "rau, the flat, smooth blade; tinana, the rounded-section handle; upoko, the sculpted human head - the shape of which is listed by H.D Skinner as "classic" ("The Two-Handed Clubs of the Maoris", 1918), the face featuring two circular eyes with black pupils, one of which retains the mother-of-pearl inlay of the paua shell; and arero, the pointed tip carved into a stylized, oversized tongue, adorned with scroll-like relief motifs. Evoking the defiant gesture of Maori warriors, the tongue motif symbolizes the spiritual energy known as mana. The rare tauri ruff is preserved here, traditionally woven on a base of linen fibers and adorned with feathers and/or dog hair. The purpose of these ornaments was to distract the opponent with their beauty, or more trivially, to absorb his blood during combat. The scarlet feathers came mainly from the kaka bird, but also from a dozen other birds, whose beautiful plumage contributed to the weapon's magnificence and effectiveness.