Massue "u'u" · Îles Marquises · ID: 3050443
Ernst von Sieglin (1848-1927), Stuttgart, Germany
Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, Germany (1905)
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich, Germany (1969)
Munich Private Collection
Description
iron wood (Casuarina equisetifolia) - called “toa”, handwritten inventory no. “49655. Markesas. E. v. Sieglin”, rest.
According to U. Menter, the Linden-Museum received this “u’u” club in 1905 as a gift from the patron Ernst von Sieglin, who gave the museum an extensive collection acquired from J. F. G. Umlauff. The club was given to Ludwig Bretschneider in exchange on 21 May 1969.
The eyes and nose of this striking bi-faced club are formed by “tiki” heads. The upper section of the shaft is decorated with accurately carved geometric ornamentation, into which another face is integrated.
These massive heavy clubs were used for both fighting and prestige displays, and in some cases were kept as trophies of victorious encounters.
Carved by specialists, the clubs were comissioned at a high cost. Once completed, they were finely sanded with sharkskin and placed in the mud of a taro patch for curing and blackening. Afterwards the club was regularly rubbed and polished with scented coconut oil, wich produced a lacquer-like finish.
L’objet Massue “u’u” avec l’ID d’objet 3050443 a fait partie de la vente aux enchères 102e vente aux enchères dans 13 avril 2024. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 26 a atteint un prix de vente de 100 000 € pour un prix d’adjudication de 10 000 €.
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Littérature comparée
Kaeppler, Adrienne, Polynesia, Honolulu 2010, p. 297, ill. 317 f. Conru, Kevin (ed.), Polynesian Art, Brussels 2023, p. 170 ff.