Oceanic Club Question: Real Deal or Tourist Appeal?

laEspadaAncha · 29th June 2011, 12:36 AM

This is on loan to me at present… should I choose, I can acquire this for fairly little. Hoping to get enough input here so as to make an informed decision.

Club measures 57cm in length, with the club head measuring roughly 40cm x 10cm. I know variations of the form are widespread throughout parts of both Melanesia and Polynesia. I haven't held enough of these to be comfortable in determining age or attribution with any significant degree of confidence, though I'd estimate the age at no later than 1st half 20th (bookended by WWII), and possibly - hopefully - earlier?

The club has decent mass - about 700 grams worth - and it feels more weighty in the hand than my Malaita club of somewhat similar dimensions. Based on what appear to be slight impressions/ indentations, the handle (which measures a little more than 12.5 cm in circumference) looks as if it might have had a cord wrapping at some time. It exhibits a slightly darker patina than the rest of the club (from handling, maybe?).

The geometric incisions are in a repeating crescent pattern which seems to (in part) recall elements found in the patterns in Fig. 52 (& 53) in Churchill's Club Types of Nuclear Polynesia, attributed to Tonga.

Of note are the three shells deeply set with resin on each side. The two set in the club head give impressions of eyes - both when viewing the plane of the club as well as when viewing it from the striking edge. In spending a little time with the club, it is the latter viewing angle that caught my attention… Is it just me, or does the lateral placement of the eyes when viewed from the striking edge give the impression of something else?

Now... am I guilty of just staring at the clouds until I see something, or does the last picture look something like this?

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VANDOO · 29th June 2011, 01:13 AM

LOOKS COOL TO ME

I WOULD AGREE IT IS PROBABLY A WW2 BRING BACK BUT COULD HAVE BEEN MADE EARLIER. THE CARVING WITH WHITE LIME INFILL AND SIZE AND DESIGN IS TYPICAL BUT THE INSET OPERCULUM IS SOMETHING I HAVEN'T SEEN.
FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR AN OPERCULUM IS THE HEAVY DOOR TURBIN AND TOP SHELLS USE TO CLOSE THEIR SHELLS AGAINST PREADITORS. I HAVE SEEN THIS TYPE USED IN JEWLRY, MASKS ECT SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS SHARKS EYES. THE IDEA OF IT LOOKING LIKE A ANGEL FISH FACE IS A COOL ONE BUT WHO KNOWS WHAT THE ARTIST INTENDED.

THE PATINA IS DARKER ON THE HANDLE INDICATING ACTUAL USE NOT JUST BOUGHT AND SHIPPED HOME.
I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ADD THIS CLUB TO MY COLLECTION SO THAT IS A RECOMENDATION. GOOD LUCK

laEspadaAncha · 29th June 2011, 02:22 AM

Hi Barry,

Thanks...

You were among the forumites I kind of expected (and hoped) to hear from... Operculum, eh? Thanks for that - I wasn't aware of the term...

Any idea of from where this might have originated?

VANDOO · 29th June 2011, 04:25 AM

UNFORTUNATELY IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN A LOCATION FOR THIS SORT OF CLUB AS THE FORM IS TO BE FOUND OVER A LARGE AREA. SOUTH PACIFIC IS ALL I CAN SAY FOR SURE

THE DESIGN USED MIGHT LEAD TO A MORE EXACT LOCATION. ITS NOT LIKELY TO BE FROM MAINLAND NEW GUINEA AND IF IN THE SOLOMON IS. IT DOSENT HAVE THE USUAL MOP INLAY BUT THEN NOT ALL CLUBS FROM THE SOLOMONS HAVE THAT INLAY.
MORE RESEARCH ON THESE SHORT CLUBS NEEDS TO BE DONE AS THERE IS QUITE A VARIETY OF THEM AROUND AND THEY REMAIN AFFORDABLE ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO THE OTHER LARGER MORE RECOGNIZED FORMS OF CLUBS FROM THE AREA.
HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF ONE TYPE OF TURBIN SHELL AS WELL AS SOME OPERCULUM. THE COLORED ROUNDED SIDE IS THE PART ATTACHED TO THE SNAILS FOOT THE FLAT PLAIN SIDE IS THE OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR AND SEALS THE SHELL OPENING.

Indianajones · 29th June 2011, 10:24 AM

Hello, this is a club from Malaita, the Solomon islands. To my (humble) opinion it is indeed -as you suspected- from the beginning of the 20th cent. as the engraving is quite finely done. The inset shells are also a quite nice feature. May certainly be used in ceremonies.
Though, to be clear, it is not the real good old (19th cent) thing as those are mostly made of black ebony and have an instant reckognizable 'moon'-shaped finial of the handle (in acute angle) and a more pronounced diamondshape (sharper corners, divided surface in four areas by a crossridge etc). Havent got a picture of those in my documents to show unfort.
Hope this helped you a bit.

laEspadaAncha · 29th June 2011, 07:48 PM

Hello Indy (If you're going to go by the late 20th century's greatest fictional archeologist, then I get to call you by his nickname

) and thanks for the response... I was hesitant to attribute it to the Solomon Islands with any degree of certainty, given the (general) form seems to occur elsewhere in the South Pacific.

The more time I am spending with this club, the more I am warming to it...

What appear as crescents when viewed head-on take on the appearance of open, teeth-lined mouths when viewed horizontally from the edge:

Indianajones · 30th June 2011, 07:42 PM

Hi, yes you may ofcourse (call me 'Indy'), though can tell you that I've made more and very hazardous REAL expeditions and trips in my life, mostly in the difficult to travel and remote area's (tribal) of the Philippines.

As you mentioned you 'saw a open mouth with teeth' or so;
have you ever considered it (may) look like a ray (the flat kind of fish that lay on the oceanfloor)?! See the fist pic of the club and consider the two 'opercula' (was it called?) as its eyes and those engraved wavy lines as the wavy side of the flatfish which curl up when the fish moves.

The club surely has a nice usage patine on its handle! I always like usage patine.

Small fact; those 'opercula' are actually the lids on the opening of one of those (kind of) shells depicted next to. Together with kauri shells they are most used to represent eyes on wooden statues and figures.

Best, Wouter

tom hyle · 7th July 2011, 03:16 AM

Hmmm...."eyelash" marks, anyone?
It is often thought that clubs would be obsolete as weapons going back to the local advent of steel blades, but this does not appear to be historically the case.
Notably, the N American police in the 1900 era used short clubs around one foot long for crowd control and riots, the longer clubs being for patrol, according to what I've read and heard.
I like these short daggerlike clubs.

29th June 2011, 12:36 AM	#1
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Oceanic Club Question: Real Deal or Tourist Appeal? This is on loan to me at present… should I choose, I can acquire this for fairly little. Hoping to get enough input here so as to make an informed decision. Club measures 57cm in length, with the club head measuring roughly 40cm x 10cm. I know variations of the form are widespread throughout parts of both Melanesia and Polynesia. I haven't held enough of these to be comfortable in determining age or attribution with any significant degree of confidence, though I'd estimate the age at no later than 1st half 20th (bookended by WWII), and possibly - hopefully - earlier? The club has decent mass - about 700 grams worth - and it feels more weighty in the hand than my Malaita club of somewhat similar dimensions. Based on what appear to be slight impressions/ indentations, the handle (which measures a little more than 12.5 cm in circumference) looks as if it might have had a cord wrapping at some time. It exhibits a slightly darker patina than the rest of the club (from handling, maybe?). The geometric incisions are in a repeating crescent pattern which seems to (in part) recall elements found in the patterns in Fig. 52 (& 53) in Churchill's Club Types of Nuclear Polynesia, attributed to Tonga. Of note are the three shells deeply set with resin on each side. The two set in the club head give impressions of eyes - both when viewing the plane of the club as well as when viewing it from the striking edge. In spending a little time with the club, it is the latter viewing angle that caught my attention… Is it just me, or does the lateral placement of the eyes when viewed from the striking edge give the impression of something else? Now... am I guilty of just staring at the clouds until I see something, or does the last picture look something like this? \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \/

29th June 2011, 02:22 AM	#3
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Hi Barry, Thanks... You were among the forumites I kind of expected (and hoped) to hear from... Operculum, eh? Thanks for that - I wasn't aware of the term... Any idea of from where this might have originated? Last edited by laEspadaAncha; 29th June 2011 at 03:41 AM.

29th June 2011, 04:25 AM	#4
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	UNFORTUNATELY IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN A LOCATION FOR THIS SORT OF CLUB AS THE FORM IS TO BE FOUND OVER A LARGE AREA. SOUTH PACIFIC IS ALL I CAN SAY FOR SURE THE DESIGN USED MIGHT LEAD TO A MORE EXACT LOCATION. ITS NOT LIKELY TO BE FROM MAINLAND NEW GUINEA AND IF IN THE SOLOMON IS. IT DOSENT HAVE THE USUAL MOP INLAY BUT THEN NOT ALL CLUBS FROM THE SOLOMONS HAVE THAT INLAY. MORE RESEARCH ON THESE SHORT CLUBS NEEDS TO BE DONE AS THERE IS QUITE A VARIETY OF THEM AROUND AND THEY REMAIN AFFORDABLE ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO THE OTHER LARGER MORE RECOGNIZED FORMS OF CLUBS FROM THE AREA. HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF ONE TYPE OF TURBIN SHELL AS WELL AS SOME OPERCULUM. THE COLORED ROUNDED SIDE IS THE PART ATTACHED TO THE SNAILS FOOT THE FLAT PLAIN SIDE IS THE OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR AND SEALS THE SHELL OPENING. Attached Images

29th June 2011, 07:48 PM	#6
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Hello Indy (If you're going to go by the late 20th century's greatest fictional archeologist, then I get to call you by his nickname ) and thanks for the response... I was hesitant to attribute it to the Solomon Islands with any degree of certainty, given the (general) form seems to occur elsewhere in the South Pacific. The more time I am spending with this club, the more I am warming to it... What appear as crescents when viewed head-on take on the appearance of open, teeth-lined mouths when viewed horizontally from the edge: Attached Images

29th June 2011, 01:13 AM	#2
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	LOOKS COOL TO ME I WOULD AGREE IT IS PROBABLY A WW2 BRING BACK BUT COULD HAVE BEEN MADE EARLIER. THE CARVING WITH WHITE LIME INFILL AND SIZE AND DESIGN IS TYPICAL BUT THE INSET OPERCULUM IS SOMETHING I HAVEN'T SEEN. FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR AN OPERCULUM IS THE HEAVY DOOR TURBIN AND TOP SHELLS USE TO CLOSE THEIR SHELLS AGAINST PREADITORS. I HAVE SEEN THIS TYPE USED IN JEWLRY, MASKS ECT SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS SHARKS EYES. THE IDEA OF IT LOOKING LIKE A ANGEL FISH FACE IS A COOL ONE BUT WHO KNOWS WHAT THE ARTIST INTENDED. THE PATINA IS DARKER ON THE HANDLE INDICATING ACTUAL USE NOT JUST BOUGHT AND SHIPPED HOME. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ADD THIS CLUB TO MY COLLECTION SO THAT IS A RECOMENDATION. GOOD LUCK

29th June 2011, 10:24 AM	#5
Indianajones Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 180	Hello, this is a club from Malaita, the Solomon islands. To my (humble) opinion it is indeed -as you suspected- from the beginning of the 20th cent. as the engraving is quite finely done. The inset shells are also a quite nice feature. May certainly be used in ceremonies. Though, to be clear, it is not the real good old (19th cent) thing as those are mostly made of black ebony and have an instant reckognizable 'moon'-shaped finial of the handle (in acute angle) and a more pronounced diamondshape (sharper corners, divided surface in four areas by a crossridge etc). Havent got a picture of those in my documents to show unfort. Hope this helped you a bit.

30th June 2011, 07:42 PM	#7
Indianajones Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 180	Hi, yes you may ofcourse (call me 'Indy'), though can tell you that I've made more and very hazardous REAL expeditions and trips in my life, mostly in the difficult to travel and remote area's (tribal) of the Philippines. As you mentioned you 'saw a open mouth with teeth' or so; have you ever considered it (may) look like a ray (the flat kind of fish that lay on the oceanfloor)?! See the fist pic of the club and consider the two 'opercula' (was it called?) as its eyes and those engraved wavy lines as the wavy side of the flatfish which curl up when the fish moves. The club surely has a nice usage patine on its handle! I always like usage patine. Small fact; those 'opercula' are actually the lids on the opening of one of those (kind of) shells depicted next to. Together with kauri shells they are most used to represent eyes on wooden statues and figures. Best, Wouter

7th July 2011, 03:16 AM	#8
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Hmmm...."eyelash" marks, anyone? It is often thought that clubs would be obsolete as weapons going back to the local advent of steel blades, but this does not appear to be historically the case. Notably, the N American police in the 1900 era used short clubs around one foot long for crowd control and riots, the longer clubs being for patrol, according to what I've read and heard. I like these short daggerlike clubs.