Canoe prow ornament
Figureheads of this general type were tied to the prow just above the waterline of large voyaging canoes used for trading and raiding in the western islands of Solomon Islands from Choiseul to Gela, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their purpose was to watch out for danger on the sea in the form of enemies and spirits. (Hviding 2014)
Letter by Major CV Molony, dated 9/11/1924: “Acquired on board the SS Southern Cross in 1912, the ship belonging to Melanesian Mission, in which I accompanied Bishop Wood in his first trip round the islands of his diocese. It was part of the effects of a lately deceased missionary. It was, I believe, attached to a war canoe, and as, for obvious reasons, head hunting expeditions by sea are hardly possible these days, it is presumed that such articles are now seldom or never made. My impression is that this one came from the island of Ysabel.”
Letter by Major CV Molony, dated 9/11/1924: “Acquired on board the SS Southern Cross in 1912, the ship belonging to Melanesian Mission, in which I accompanied Bishop Wood in his first trip round the islands of his diocese. It was part of the effects of a lately deceased missionary. It was, I believe, attached to a war canoe, and as, for obvious reasons, head hunting expeditions by sea are hardly possible these days, it is presumed that such articles are now seldom or never made. My impression is that this one came from the island of Ysabel.”
Object Summary
- Accession Loan No.
- 71/1924/1
- Category
- Ethnography
- Collection Class
- Transport
- Collection Area Region
- Melanesia
- Material
- mother-of-pearl shell | | | |
- Common Name
- canoe prow ornament
- Simple Name
- ornament
- Production Town
- Santa Ysabel
- Production Country
- Solomon Islands
- Production Date
- 20th century
- Production Person Initials
- Production Person Surname
- Production Year Low
- Production Year High
- 1912
