Throwing club with plain ball head [FC 03/08/2011]

Collection type: Object
Description: Throwing club with plain ball head [FC 03/08/2011]
Long description: Throwing club with plain ball head. The round head has deep fissures revealing the root base. The handle iis lost, only the head a the top of the shaft remain. [FC 02/08/2011]
Geographical reference: Fiji
Oceania > Melanesia > Fiji
Person: Field collector Unknown Collector; PRM source Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1886
Date collected: By 1886
Acquisition information: Transferred: 24/09/1886
Materials and processes: Material Wood Plant, Process Carved
Dimensions: Length: max 170 mm, Diameter: max 95 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1886.1.1524
Research and responses: This object was examined on the 29/30th November 2012 by Any Mills as part of the work of the AHRC-funded project 'Fijian Art: Political Power, Sacred Value, Social Transformation and Collecting Since the 18th Century' (2011-2014). His notes read: "I Ula Kobo 1886.1.1524 (Clunie type 20A) [see Fijian Weapons and Warfare by Fergus Clunie, Fiji Museum, 1977]. Broken below head, missing midshaft and butt." [FB 04/12/2012]
The i ula were throwing clubs with short handles and bulbous heads. These were the most deadly Fijian weapon, capable of competing with revolvers in close situations. If the handle struck the victim first it could penetrate flesh, the heavy head then jack-knifing onto the victim even if the handle did not pierce him, thus dealing a crippling, if not a finishing blow. [FC 02/08/2011]

Search terms: Weapon, Club

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