Beschreibung:

Wood length 58 1/2in (131cm) Provenance Dr. Albert Hahl (1868-1945), Governor of German New Guinea (1902-1914) By descent Galerie Meyer, Paris Acquired from the above The island of New Britain is one of the largest in Oceania. The Sulka, who live on the southern shore of Wide Bay, are most commonly known for their large, extraordinarily elaborate and colorfully decorated ceremonial headdresses. Richard Parkinson notes, "Clubs are found particularly among the Sulka and their neighbours, and are of a characteristic shape and highest quality manufacture . . . All of these clubs have a larger or smaller cone-shaped knob on the grip end." (Parkinson, Richard, Thirty Years in the South Seas , Sydney University Press, Australia, 2010, p. 99). Cf. (Ibid.), fig. 32, no. 3 for an almost identical version. Finely carved from dense, hardwood, the present example is beautifully balanced with a large bulbous-form head and a tapering, conical-form handle at the base; fine, glossy dark-brown patina.