1923.87.8

Collection type

Object

Description

Spatula shaped club, carved design all over head and butt. Inlaid on one side with haliotis shell. [SM 22/03/2007]

Long description

Spatula shaped club, carved design all over head and butt. Inlaid on one side with haliotis shell. The carved design is of interlocking curves. The butt is carved with two human faces. The handle has a hole which passes through the centre. [SM 22/03/2007]

Geographical reference

New Zealand

Oceania > Australia and New Zealand > New Zealand

North Island

Cultural groups

Māori

Person

Field collector Charles Smith

PRM source The Executors of the Charles Smith Estate

PRM source Alfred T. Collier

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1869?, uncertain

Date collected

1860 - 1869?

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1923

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Haliotis Shell, Process Carved, Process Inlaid

Dimensions

Width: max 79 mm, Length: max 370 mm, Weight 318.5 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1923.87.8

Associated publications

Illustrated in colour across pages 202 and 203 of Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armour, edited by Richard Holmes et al (Great Britain: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2006). Caption (page 203) reads: 'MAORI PATUKI The Maori, Polynesians who colonized New Zealand around 1000 BCE, were among the most warlike of Pacific peoples. This two-edged club, known as a patuki, comes from New Zealand's North Island and may have been taken as plunder by the British after their victory in the Maori War of 1860-69. It is decorated with iridescent haliotis shells, as well as elaborate carvings. Date: c1860 Origin:New Zealand Weight: 0.31KG (3/4 LB) Length: 37cm (14 1/2 IN)' [The accession number is not given]. [ZM 03/07/2008]

Search terms: Weapon, Figure, Club