Loading

"Totokia," beaked hardwood war club, or battle- hammer with a heavy, swollen head covered with rows of carved points and ending in an elongated beak. The hand grip is covered with incised geometric designs, and there are three bands of incising at the top of the club. There are two holes drilled at the base of the club. Publication: for a similar club see Fergus Clunie, "Yalo I Viti," Fiji Museum, 1986, pp. 118 & 185. Exhibited Magnificent Voyagers, National Museum of Natural History, 1985-86.

This object was collected in Fiji under the direction of Lt. Charles Wilkes, leader of the historic United States Exploring Expedition, the American scientific expedition to circumnavigate the globe. The objects collected from that expedition became some of the founding collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

Details

  • Title: War Club, "Totokia"
  • Location: Fiji, Melanesia
  • Physical Dimensions: L: 103cm D: 6.9cm, 13.7cm
  • Type: Club
  • Rights: This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. The image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. http://www.si.edu/termsofuse
  • External Link: View this object record in the Smithsonian Institution Collections Search Center
  • Medium: hardwood
  • USNM Catalog Number(s): E4705
  • Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
  • Field: Ethnology
  • Date Collected: 1838
  • Accession Date: 1858

Additional Items

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Flash this QR Code to get the app
Google apps