fbpx

Club

Collection Type

  • Cultural artifacts

GUSN

GUSN-170500

Description

Carved Fijian club, or kia kavo. Long handle with knobbed base and a curved head with a rounded protubernece on the top. The underside of the head is curved and a thin layer of wood has been scraped away leaving a rough surface. Although similar to other Fijian weapons, kia kavo were used as ceremonial dance clubs.

Details

Descriptive Terms

clubs (weapons)
wood (plant material)
Club

Associated Building

Original to Phillips House (Salem, Mass.),

Additional Identification Number

E47,152
FD228

Maker

Unknown

Location of Origin

Pacific Island Group

Dimensions

2 x 8 (HxW) (inches)

Credit Line

Gift of the Stephen Phillips Memorial Charitable Trust for Historic Preservation

Accession Number

2006.44.953

Reference Notes

http://www.new-guinea-tribal-art.com/wp/index.php/2011/10/05/native-weapons/. This site has a comprehensive yet concise review of Fijian war clubs.

Places

Fiji

Reparative Language in Collections Records

Historic New England is committed to implementing reparative language description for existing collections and creating respectful and inclusive language description for new collections. If you encounter language in Historic England's Collections Access Portal that is harmful or offensive, or you find materials that would benefit from a content warning, please contact [email protected].