Fijian Sali from Brimfield

[Lee]

The fall Brimfield, Massachusetts flea market was held this past week and so I continue with my series of posts of what I happen to find there. There is always a selection of South Seas clubs on offer at Brimfield - but usually the same ones as from markets past that all too often share an unfortunate condition issue of having rather conspicuous bits of wood broken off.

This one was making its premiere appearance, but has that same old problem of a missing fragment - namely the pointed spur now represented by a stump. This club also appears well covered by an old, dark paint job, reassuringly worn away to reveal handsome wood - right at the point where you find your hand when carrying it. I shall restrain the impulse to strip away this paint on the basis of Fergus Clunie's suggestion that such paint may be original. This paint also covers the stump where the spur should be (3rd picture). The bottom picture is an on-end foreshortened view showing variations in diameter that are not so obvious from the side views.

I will appreciate any advice and enlightenment our club enthusiasts choose to share.

[Lew]

Lee

I tend to stay away from any club that has an ebonized finish. The real old ones that I have seen have a dark red or brown deep patina. You should ask Vandoo he is the guru as far as Fijian clubs go.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Lew

Lee

I tend to stay away from any club that has an ebonized finish. The real old ones that I have seen have a dark red or brown deep patina. You shold ask Vandoo he is the guru as far as Fijian clubs go.

Nice profiled club Lee.
I tend to agree with Lew but I have always wondered if maybe ebonizing was a Victorian tradition to do on some of these on pieces.
I had the same query I sent to a NZ museum some time back but as yet no reply (mental note to follow up), this however was relating to a feather box, I didn 't follow it down due to lack of confirmation from the museum experts.
Regardless, the detailed images of the base and shaft do show some very nice warm age patina and honest wear.

I too am very interested in what Vandoo has to say.

Gav

[VANDOO]

SOME OF THE FINISHES MAY BE ORIGINAL TO THE TRIBES INVOLVED AND SOME MAY HAVE BEEN ADDED LATER BY A COLLECTOR. IN BOTH CASES IT SERVES THE PURPOSE OF PRESERVING THE CLUB FROM MOLD, BUGS AND MOISTURE. IT IS OFTEN MADE FROM PLANTS AND CAN ALSO SERVE TO SECURE AND PRESERVE FIBER AND CORD WRAP WHERE PRESENT. I ALSO PREFER A UNDAMAGED EXAMPLE WITH A RICH PATINA TO THE WOOD WITH NO ADDED COATING. BUT JUDGEING FROM THE PICTURES YOU HAVE A NICE LOOKING CLUB REGARDLESS OF THE COATING. THE CARVING IS A TRADITIONAL DESIGN AND IN THE LAST PICTURE THE HANDLE SEEMS TO SHOW RINGS . IMPOSIBLE TO TELL IF IT IS IN THE WOOD(WHICH INDICATES AN OLDER HAND WORKED EXAMPLE) OR FROM THE COATING AND THE POSSIBILITY OF IT BEING FIBER OR LINE WRAPED. MOST CLUBS FROM FIJI ARE MADE OF A HEAVY HARD WOOD BUT THE OCCASIONAL EXAMPLE IS MADE OF A LIGHTER MAHOGANY WHICH IS MORE PRONE TO SPLIT AND CHIP OFF BUT IS RESISTANT TO ROT AND BUGS. I KNOW COATINGS WERE USED FOR MANY THINGS AND A COATING WOULD SERVE VERY WELL ON SUCH A CLUB. UNFORTUNATELY THESE OBSERVATIONS ARE BASED ON WHAT I HAVE SEEN AND READ SO ARE MOSTLY MY OPINION. I DON'T HAVE REFRENCES TO A STUDY DONE ON THIS COATING SO USE WHAT I STATE HERE AS A STARTING POINT TO LOOK FOR MORE INFO AND NOT THE TOTAL TRUTH. I HAVE READ FERGUS CLUNNIES WORKS BUT DO NOT HAVE HIS DEPTH OF KNOWLEGE OR EXPERIENCE. NICE FIJI CLUB CONGRADULATIONS.

I INCLUDE A PICTURE OF TWO FIJI CLUBS ONE WITH FIBER WRAPPED HANDLE AND OTHER WITH DARK COATING ON HEAD.
ONE EXAMPLE REPLICA WITH WRAPPED SENNET CORD
AND BLACK COATING
PICTURE 1940 FIJIANS WITH CLUBS SOME WITH FIBER BAND WRAP.NO DOUBT POSED WITH VICTIM BEING TAKEN TO DINNER.

[Tim Simmons]

It is common to see black paint on artworks from the Solomon Islands. When I examine the paint I cannot tell if it is a paint of industrial manufacture are a local paint. I think it is quite possbly original to the early use of the club. According to some there is a version of this form of club with a short projection and knife edge concave blade like this one called a "GATA" or snake. From what I can see the paint does look like it has been applied to polished wood, but if you want nice paint work around your doors and windows at home then a nice smooth finish to the wood preparation gives much better look. I would think the same for the club. Although the spur is trunkated to me it all looks concidered and correct proportions. I want one .

[Lee]

Thank you all!

I have attached below a photograph of the smooth wood surface exposed where the paint has been worn away from where the hand naturally carries this club. I too would aesthetically prefer this underlying nice polished wood surface to the dirty oxidized paint covering the vast majority of this club - and I doubt there would be much more than an hour's effort to transfer that old painted finish to paper towels in the trash. My problem is that I suspect this finish to be original to Fiji and to the time of the club's 'working life.' Clunie mentions blue, red and white paint being used to decorate clubs being used in dances. I presume this has always been black, but the coat thickness is rather variable and I suspect this is not commercial paint. And Vandoo has provided us with another example cursed by black paint.

If this were a piece of antique painted early American furniture, a coat of nasty, dirty old oxidized paint is a 10x value multiplier. I aesthetically prefer refinished examples of such furniture, especially if I were to be living with it, but I have learned from television that such refinishing is catastrophic in that particular market. OK to polish silver, but never brass or copper - makes my head spin. I am guessing that cleaning this club would enhance its value. Are not the art and antique markets bizarre at times?

Anyways, the black paint will be staying for a while - unless and until I convince myself that it has nothing to do with the 'working life' of this club.

This club is 1.05 meters in length and weighs almost 1.5 kg (or 3.3 lbs) exactly; about 3/4 of the weight of my other Fijian club, which is a hardwood gata that has a significantly greater shaft diameter but is a bit shorter. Perhaps this is indeed made from a lighter mahogany, but the density of the wood seems similar for both clubs. One can see in the third picture above that there is a crack that would additionally shorten the stump of the spur were it to propagate.

The 'rings' in the last picture are definitely variations in the surface of the wood from when the club was made and are just like those on the gata which is a 'known good' early hand-worked item.