Interesting war club with cross cultural features

[RSWORD]

How many times have you said, "man, I wish these things could talk"? Our forum friend Charles likes cross cultural pieces and I think this fits the bill quite well. Plus, we have had a lot of club discussion lately which inspired me to share this example from my collection. It does not have the most refined carving you will ever see but it just has a lot going on that is very interesting. First, I think this is an old one. Easily 19th century but I wouldn't be surprised if it was 18th century or even possibly older. It is a heavy dense wood that has a lot of patina. It has simple geometric carvings that are done deeply and have been carved without the use of metal tools. Now, add in all the interesting European features. At the end of the club is very old iron that has been bent to make spikes and 2 rows of the same bent iron. Is this done in imitation of early war maces? I have seen Aboriginal "hobnail" pieces but the ones I have seen are nails that stick out of a club but not bent over like this. At the other end you have a lot more happening. First is a wrist loop. I am unsure of the exact material but it feels coarse and reminds me of ship rope. The way it is knotted and the coarseness and thickness of it. It has a lot of patina now and has begun to fray in some spots. Below that on the grip is some type of chord wrapping. It is covered in some type of pitch. Reminds me of jute found on Moro kris handles. Above and below the grip are leather strips and attached to that are a few old cowrie shells. So I have lots of questions about this one. Did a native get this material from a sailor or pirate and make this up? If they did, how did they bend these iron nails? Or, did a sailor or pirate pick up this war club in their travels and jazzed it up for their own use? Or are there other theories about this piece? Age? Materials? From where does the club and the material originate. Man, if these things could talk!

[RSWORD]

Some additional pictures.

[colin henshaw]

Very interesting piece, thanks for posting. The geometric carving certainly has an Oceanic look (Austral Islands ?), probably from a paddle or club shaft. The metal bits look as if added by a European, so my best guess is ... its a sailor's or beachcomber's cosh or "handy billy"... 19th century at least ?

Regards.

[Shakethetrees]

It almost looks like a pickax handle.

In Clunie's Fijian Weapons and Warfare he illustrates Western trade axes decorated and used Fijian style.

Could this be something similar?

[trenchwarfare]

ANZAC trench club? I saw a club on ebay years ago, that looked like a Knobkerrie, with added WWI hobnails, and markings.

[RSWORD]

Originally Posted by trenchwarfare

AZAC trench club? I saw a club on ebay years ago, that looked like a Knobkerrie, with added WWI hobnails, and markings.

I know what you are referring to and while similar in design I am leaning heavily towards this club having an Oceanic origin with European iron and leather. The wood and carving style point us in that direction.

[RSWORD]

Jimmy, Barry,

You guys have a lot of club references and experience with these type of things. Any thoughts?

[trenchwarfare]

Originally Posted by RSWORD

I know what you are referring to and while similar in design I am leaning heavily towards this club having an Oceanic origin with European iron and leather. The wood and carving style point us in that direction.

In helps to spell things right. I meant ANZAC: Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.

That would give it an Oceanic connection. A trip to the trenches in WWI, would add the iron.

[RSWORD]

Originally Posted by Shakethetrees

It almost looks like a pickax handle.

In Clunie's Fijian Weapons and Warfare he illustrates Western trade axes decorated and used Fijian style.

Could this be something similar?

Most axe handles tend to have a rectangular cross section and this one is round. Those native axes you mention typically have the imported axe head and that is attached to a native wood.

[RSWORD]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Very interesting piece, thanks for posting. The geometric carving certainly has an Oceanic look (Austral Islands ?), probably from a paddle or club shaft. The metal bits look as if added by a European, so my best guess is ... its a sailor's or beachcomber's cosh or "handy billy"... 19th century at least ?

Regards.

Colin,

Thanks for the feedback. The geometric patterns definitely have an Oceanic look to them and I agree the Austral Islands could be a possibility but typically their carvings are much more refined than on this example. I don't think it is from a paddle shaft although as you can probably see from the pictures it is narrower at the handle and the widens at the end but the cross section there is quite round and I would think a paddle would be flatter. The overall length is 27" so I suppose it could be a shortened club but I have seen many clubs over the years of this same length. I agree the iron and leather are European but any ideas what country had contact in these areas(supposing in and around Austral Islands) and how early?

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by RSWORD

Colin,

Thanks for the feedback. The geometric patterns definitely have an Oceanic look to them and I agree the Austral Islands could be a possibility but typically their carvings are much more refined than on this example. I don't think it is from a paddle shaft although as you can probably see from the pictures it is narrower at the handle and the widens at the end but the cross section there is quite round and I would think a paddle would be flatter. The overall length is 27" so I suppose it could be a shortened club but I have seen many clubs over the years of this same length. I agree the iron and leather are European but any ideas what country had contact in these areas(supposing in and around Austral Islands) and how early?

To try to expand on the points you have raised :-

Here are a couple of images of Austral Islands paddles that I have picked off the internet for reference. I believe fairly similar carved decoration was also used in Fiji.

Regarding European contact..as far as I know British, French and Spanish ships all explored the Pacific Islands in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. Also the US Exploring Expedition visited the South Pacific in the late 1830s. Not sure if they visited the Australs, but they did Fiji. After explorers came missionaries, traders, whalers & settlers.

Two more points of observation - the wood on the piece seems quite dry and abraded from the images, this could indicate prolonged contact with salt spray and exposure. The presence of cowrie shells and those leather tassels tend to suggest West Africa, so perhaps a sailor owner had visited there as well as the Pacific ? Possible slavery connection ??

Anyway, an intriguing object...

[RSWORD]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

To try to expand on the points you have raised :-

Here are a couple of images of Austral Islands paddles that I have picked off the internet for reference. I believe fairly similar carved decoration was also used in Fiji.

Regarding European contact..as far as I know British, French and Spanish ships all explored the Pacific Islands in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. Also the US Exploring Expedition visited the South Pacific in the late 1830s. Not sure if they visited the Australs, but they did Fiji. After explorers came missionaries, traders, whalers & settlers.

Two more points of observation - the wood on the piece seems quite dry and abraded from the images, this could indicate prolonged contact with salt spray and exposure. The presence of cowrie shells and those leather tassels tend to suggest West Africa, so perhaps a sailor owner had visited there as well as the Pacific ? Possible slavery connection ??

Anyway, an intriguing object...

Thanks for the picture from the net. Interesting that it has carved wooden protrusions at the top of the club. Would the bent nails grouped in a ball be in imitation of this?

Yes, the club is quite dry and has a lot of age splits and cracks. Is this from salt spray? Could be. The cowrie shells are quite bleached so they have had a lot if exposure to the sun at one time. The dry wood could also be fro change of climates, storage conditions, etc. it just seems quite old to me. Not sure it would be worth treating the wood at this time.

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by RSWORD

Thanks for the picture from the net. Interesting that it has carved wooden protrusions at the top of the club. Would the bent nails grouped in a ball be in imitation of this?

Yes, the club is quite dry and has a lot of age splits and cracks. Is this from salt spray? Could be. The cowrie shells are quite bleached so they have had a lot if exposure to the sun at one time. The dry wood could also be fro change of climates, storage conditions, etc. it just seems quite old to me. Not sure it would be worth treating the wood at this time.

Most likely the iron nails etc are just to provide a more effective striking area, rather than an imitation of the woodcarving...but who knows ?

I have a copy of a useful little book "The Art of Tahiti" by Terence Barrow 1979 - it has a section on the Austral Islands, and I attach an extract which seems relevant.

Can you tell me from where the club was sourced, was it locally in the USA ?

Regards.