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Portfolios%20%3D%20%22391%22%20and%20Disp_Obj_Type%20%3D%20%22Woodwork%22%20and%20Century%20%3D%20%2219th-20th%20Century%22%20and%20Creation_Place2%20%3D%20%22Tonga%22
Woodwork
Ceremonial War Club (Moungalaulau)
Tongan artist, (active )
Tongan artist
Tonga
44 7/8 x 3 3/8 x 1 5/8 in. (114 x 8.6 x 4.2 cm)
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overall
overall
Wood
Wood
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0
Oceanic, Oceanic art (Pacific Islands)
Woodwork
Tongan warriors were so skilled that they often served as mercenaries in the nearby islands of Fiji and Samoa. Heavy war clubs like this one were their preferred weapons. The dense, hard ironwood from which it was carved could deliver a powerful blow without cracking. Tongan artists covered the surfaces of these weapons with fine carvings of crosshatch, zigzag and herringbone patterns occasionally broken by small human figures or crescent shapes.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
1961.15
item
Memorial Art Gallery
3/20/2001
61.15LS1
slide
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
61.15DI1
digital image
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/61.15_A1.jpg
61.15DI#2
digital image
7/28/2009
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/61.15_A2.jpg