Two stone mace heads "palau" / "palao" ·  Papua New Guinea - Bismarck Archipelago - New Britain · ID: 3052153

Description

wood, heavy grey rock with inclusions,

a) club with spherical stone head, parinarium nut paste (with soil and gum from the breadfruit tree), rattan cuff, l: 118 cm (shaft), d: approx. 8.5 cm, h: approx. 7.5 cm (club head)

b) club with oval flattened stone head, l: 115 cm (shaft), d: approx. 9 cm, h: 9.5 cm

This war club, which was used in close combat, is called “palau” by the inhabitants of the Gazelle Peninsula and was widespread throughout almost all of New Britain. Its origin is traced back to the Baining people.

The object Two stone mace heads “palau” / “palao” with the object ID 3052153 was part of the auction Auction 105 on November 15, 2025. The object with the lot number 154 achieved a sales price of EUR 600 with an asking price of EUR 400.

Comparing literature

Rossi, Milène C., Blut, Prunk, Ritual, Keulen und ihre Funktion in den Gesellschaften Ozeaniens, Wien 2015, p. 176 f.