Pacific Art from the Collection of Harry A. Franklin
Pacific Art from the Collection of Harry A. Franklin
PARRYING SHIELD OR CLUB (QAUATA)
Auction Closed
May 13, 03:32 PM GMT
Estimate
7,000 - 10,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
PARRYING SHIELD OR CLUB (QAUATA)
Makira (San Cristobal), Solomon Islands
Wood
Height: 57 in (144.8 cm)
The shaft with a paper label inscribed in black ink: "SAN CRISTOVAL, [/] SOLOMON IDS [/] C. F. Wood coll., 1873 [/] d.d. Mrs Wood, 1921"
Despite its slender form, William Davenport states that the shaft of the qauata was "used to parry javelins, the feather-shaped blade to protect the back of the head" (Davenport, "Sculpture of the Eastern Solomons", Expedition, Vol. 10, No. 2, 1968, p. 21); this agrees with Henry Brougham Guppy's earlier observation that "flat-bladed curved clubs [...] serve the purpose of a defensive weapon." (Guppy, The Solomon Islands and their Natives, London, 1887, p. 75).
The stylized 'W' on the blade may represent the outspread wings of a frigate bird, which was a symbol of male power. (Waite in Morphy, ed., Animals into Art, London, 2015, p. 328).