Oceanic Easter Island Safety Knife......circa ( 1700\'s) PRE CONTACT
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Oceanic Easter Island Safety Knife......circa ( 1700\'s) PRE CONTACT:
$400.00
or sale is this extremely rare Easter Island obsidian knife/spear fragment which was constructed by an audacious hunter/warrior to aid him fend off (or kill) formidable opponents (ie - human intruders, or dangerous animals such as sharks)....As the photos clearly show, this extremely rare and unique weapon was an effective implementmasterfully designed to cause fatal injuries to any creature,,,The wonderful obsidian blade, with its sharp edges, could cut through the toughest of flesh and it\'s once upon a time very pointy tip must\'ve delivered quite a few deathly stabs!!.....
This is the sort of weapon that the bold and daring competitors of the bird man cult would carry during the annual egg hunting completion....Evidently the waters of the Pacific Ocean teems with deadly sharks, so it makes sense why any competitor would want to carry such an indispensable object during his valorous swim from Rapa Nui to the smaller island (Motu Nui) to collect thehighly prized Sooty tern egg.....For those of you who aren\'t familiar with Easter Island or its mysterious and very interesting traditions, there is a wealth of information on the net for you to peruse....
This is undoubtedly a museum deaccessioned specimen, but exactly which museum it once belonged to, that, I unfortunately, do not know...If I had to hazard a guess I\'d be the University Of Toronto, I think the inventory letters UOT-1634..is a probable signifier..but...I\'m not al all 100% sure...One thing for certain though, the artifact was discovered at Orongo, and Orongo is an important archeological sitein Easter Island...I\'m not an Easter island scholar at all...butthe little that I do know about it gives me enough confidence to assert that Obsidian was (and probably still is) abundantly available near Easter Island\'s volcanoes....As the old label on the blade shows, this specimen was either found, or analyzed, or both...at the archeological village of Orongo....Again...there is a plethora of info on the net pertaining to this fascinating, isolated and most mysterious of Islands...Furthermore, Obsidian was also used fro the pupils of the well known Moai Kava Kava wood figures...
Here\'s a bit of provenance..........It belonged to an oddities/tribal arts collector friend of mine from Boston. (who moved to Vancouver in the 80\'s), he acquired it from his eccentric partner who resided in Toronto (yet another good reason fro me to believe that this knife wasa UOT property), who amassed an impressive collection of weird and rare tribal objects, most of which were purchased from art dealers worldwide or handed down to him by his father who was a New Zealander; a Polynesian/Melanesian tribal art collector, and who well traveled the Pacific Islands.....I acquired it from my art collector (small time antique dealer) friend of mine a few years ago....It is one of my most beloved items...but now..it needs a new home!!....The Obsidian blade is stunning, the gorgeous wooden fragment (Torimoro wood) has a beautiful unctuous dark reddish brown patina....tied to the blade wiih vegetable fibre cord....It would have been wonderful to see the wooden handle intact, but the fact that a remnant has survived.......is miraculous!!!!.....Some sort of sap like resinous hardened substance is present along the edges of the base of the knife where the larger handle had broken off.....This is one of those rare museum specimens which very VERY seldom shows up on .....and now here is your chance to own it!!!
The knife was presented to me wrapped in sheep\'s wool ( has some age to it, but not at all as old as the knife itself)..and this fleece will serve as part of the packing material.....The knife measures approx. (from tip of blade to the tip of wood fragment handle) approx........10.5 inches (26.60 cms) long.......
I was never able to wrap my head around the peculiar construction of the knife handle...seems like the extant wood handle fragment served as some accessory to a missing larger handle..i really don\'t know....but then again the Polynesians were master designers and craftsmen, whose innumerable objects continue to baffle our most august scholars.....A truly fascinating specimen this fragment knife is.....and certainly a must have fro anyone who is an avid collector of rare tribal implements!!!!!!!!! I frankly don\'t think that such a rare and intriguing object, from one of the world\'s most isolated and mysterious islands, will ever be offered for sale here on !!!!!!!!!
FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS PRIOR TO offerDING
GOOD LUCK offerDING
CHEERS!
Rez
Oceanic Easter Island Safety Knife......circa ( 1700\'s) PRE CONTACT:
$400.00