Beaked battle hammer "totokia" · Fidji Islands · ID: 3051252
not available anymore
Provenance
Erwin & Susanne Melchardt, Vienna, AustriaSize
L: 85 cm
L: 33.5 inch
Description
heavy wood, reddish brown patina, age-related defects and cracks
The club head is modelled on the fruit of the pandanut tree.
These very “effective” clubs were used for close combat in the underbrush, to kill the wounded or for executions. Some chiefs valued these clubs so highly that they were buried with them in order to be properly equipped for their journeys in the afterworld.
Comparing literature
Kaeppler, Adrienne, Polynesia, Honolulu 2010, p. 236, ill. 104