Dragon staff?

fireiceviper · 31st August 2014, 05:02 PM

So many doubts about this piece, at first i thought it was tourist or a larp (live action roleplay

) staff ( I liked it for the weird factor so i bought it anyway)

The person i bought it from said he purchased it about 18 years ago in an auction lot of old wood ornaments mainly from the Indonesian region.

The length is around 52 cm and its a hard wood.

Anyone have any clue or opinion about the origin and or function of this staff???

kronckew · 31st August 2014, 06:49 PM

nice one.

reminds me of a somewhat touristy maori tewhatewha with a greenstone (nephrite jade) 'blade'. the attached is of one around 71 cm.

the actual 'battle ones were about 5 ft. long with carved wooden 'blades' with a tuft of feathers attached at the base of the blade. the other end was very pointy and used for thrusts. the 'blade' end was used for striking blows, but not with the blade, but the back opposite. the blade only adding to the weight of impact. they were only carried by chiefs, never the rank and file warriors. also uses as semaphores to give the troops battle orders, a bit like a japanese war fan, so if a non-chief was carrying it, it meant the chief was dead and he'd taken command.

as a side note, it appears many maori carved hand weapons were only carved on one side as they were carried in a sash with the smooth unseen side towards the body. larger & longer staff weapons (including tewhatewha and taiaha were carried in hand & likely carved both sides. i note yours is only carved in detail on one side.

anyway, yours could be afantasy version from an indonesian with maori knowledge, or parallel evolution.

interesting maori haka performed in washington, initially starts with a maori and his shillelagh, and then another with his taiaha, the rest add in with their white bone patu hand clubs. then a chief, in the feathered shoulder cape directs from behind with his tewhatewha.

Maori Haka

on a more humorous note, if you watch the video, the maori slap their chests till they are bruised & red.

the german wehrmacht has seen an increase in the need for breast reduction operations in their male soldiers from the impact of their rifles on the chest during rifle drills on formal occasions and the practice sessions. seems it caused their breasts to grow - manboobs.

fireiceviper · 31st August 2014, 10:53 PM

Thanks for your reply, I unfortunately don't see any similarities...

The stone looks to be a different kind and it would break on impact for sure... even a replica would not make such a huge alteration in shape and form.

But thank you for thinking with me!

I'm still as dumbfounded as before, anyone see anything they recognize from another culture perhaps?

David · 1st September 2014, 06:09 PM

hmmm…i'm not sure why you refer to this as a staff. It seems to be a club to me, though i would think one that was purely either ceremonial or simply made for tourists rather than a truly functional weapon. It also seems to be fairly contemporary to me, that is, certainly post WWII.
It does indeed appear to have a SEA appearance, though i cannot help much with a precise location. It could also be from a bit further east in the islands of the Pacific. There are a lot of variations on club forms from these regions.

VANDOO · 1st September 2014, 11:37 PM

IT REMINDS ME OF THE END OFF ONE OF THE CLOTH HANGERS SOLD IN BALI AND CHINA WITH A GROVE CUT AND AN INEXPENSIVE NEW STONE DISK MOUNTED IN IT WITH ADHESIVE OF SOME SORT. DEFINITELY RECENT AND THE WOOD PART OF SOMETHING ELSE NOT A CLUB. THE STONE APPEARS TO BE SOME SORT OF COPPER BASED MINERAL.

31st August 2014, 05:02 PM	#1
fireiceviper Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 87	Dragon staff? So many doubts about this piece, at first i thought it was tourist or a larp (live action roleplay ) staff ( I liked it for the weird factor so i bought it anyway) The person i bought it from said he purchased it about 18 years ago in an auction lot of old wood ornaments mainly from the Indonesian region. The length is around 52 cm and its a hard wood. Anyone have any clue or opinion about the origin and or function of this staff??? Attached Images

31st August 2014, 06:49 PM	#2
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	nice one. reminds me of a somewhat touristy maori tewhatewha with a greenstone (nephrite jade) 'blade'. the attached is of one around 71 cm. the actual 'battle ones were about 5 ft. long with carved wooden 'blades' with a tuft of feathers attached at the base of the blade. the other end was very pointy and used for thrusts. the 'blade' end was used for striking blows, but not with the blade, but the back opposite. the blade only adding to the weight of impact. they were only carried by chiefs, never the rank and file warriors. also uses as semaphores to give the troops battle orders, a bit like a japanese war fan, so if a non-chief was carrying it, it meant the chief was dead and he'd taken command. as a side note, it appears many maori carved hand weapons were only carved on one side as they were carried in a sash with the smooth unseen side towards the body. larger & longer staff weapons (including tewhatewha and taiaha were carried in hand & likely carved both sides. i note yours is only carved in detail on one side. anyway, yours could be afantasy version from an indonesian with maori knowledge, or parallel evolution. interesting maori haka performed in washington, initially starts with a maori and his shillelagh, and then another with his taiaha, the rest add in with their white bone patu hand clubs. then a chief, in the feathered shoulder cape directs from behind with his tewhatewha. Maori Haka on a more humorous note, if you watch the video, the maori slap their chests till they are bruised & red. the german wehrmacht has seen an increase in the need for breast reduction operations in their male soldiers from the impact of their rifles on the chest during rifle drills on formal occasions and the practice sessions. seems it caused their breasts to grow - manboobs. Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 31st August 2014 at 07:21 PM.

31st August 2014, 10:53 PM	#3
fireiceviper Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 87	Thanks for your reply, I unfortunately don't see any similarities... The stone looks to be a different kind and it would break on impact for sure... even a replica would not make such a huge alteration in shape and form. But thank you for thinking with me! I'm still as dumbfounded as before, anyone see anything they recognize from another culture perhaps?

1st September 2014, 06:09 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,123	hmmm…i'm not sure why you refer to this as a staff. It seems to be a club to me, though i would think one that was purely either ceremonial or simply made for tourists rather than a truly functional weapon. It also seems to be fairly contemporary to me, that is, certainly post WWII. It does indeed appear to have a SEA appearance, though i cannot help much with a precise location. It could also be from a bit further east in the islands of the Pacific. There are a lot of variations on club forms from these regions.

1st September 2014, 11:37 PM	#5
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	IT REMINDS ME OF THE END OFF ONE OF THE CLOTH HANGERS SOLD IN BALI AND CHINA WITH A GROVE CUT AND AN INEXPENSIVE NEW STONE DISK MOUNTED IN IT WITH ADHESIVE OF SOME SORT. DEFINITELY RECENT AND THE WOOD PART OF SOMETHING ELSE NOT A CLUB. THE STONE APPEARS TO BE SOME SORT OF COPPER BASED MINERAL.