Accession No

Z 2783.8


Description

Tattooing adze or chisel with shell blade


Place

Oceania; Polynesia; Fiji


Period


Source

von Hügel, Anatole (Baron) [collector and donor]


Department

Anth


Reference Numbers

Z 2783.8; MAA: 1923.H.1c


Cultural Affliation


Material

Bamboo; Shell; Plant; Fibre


Local Term

iQia [Fijian Art research project]


Measurements

11mm x 46mm x 205mm


Events

Context (Display)
Catalogue card noted this was exhibited in 'Showcase number 2' [undated]
Event Date
Author: rachel hand


Description (CMS Description)
Tattooing implement.
Event Date 11/9/1986
Author: maa


Context (CMS Context)
Catalogue card 1 reads [stamped in black ink:] 'Z 2783 FIJI'. [typed:] '3 Levuka, Ovalau Isld: 11 Raki Raki, Na Vua Vua. 5 Viti Levu. Ra Province Rakiraki. Tattooing implements, case 2, 19 in number:- Taken from some of the Baron von Hugel's notes, - "Bamboo (bitu) case with set of 10 tattooing implements, bati ni veggie "Teeth of the tattooing" (place) Na via via, Raki rake Viti Levu." Case made of the lower part of the internode of a bamboo 240 mm long by 80 mm diameter. "Presented 1875 by the woman who had been in the habit of using them. At this date girls were occasionally tattooed in the Ra district, Viti Levu, but in the interior of the island the practice had not then been abandoned." A.P. Maudslay 3, Von Hugel 11, A.H. Gordon 3, Dr: Brady 1, Unrecorded 1' [stamped in blue ink in the bottom right corner:] 'SHOW CASE 2'. A small round red sticker pasted to the front of the card.
Catalogue card 2 reads [stamped in black ink:] 'Z 2783 FIJI'. [typed:] 'Tattooing implements, 19 in number, a to o, 11 von Hugel, 3 A.P. Maudslay, 3 A.H. Gordon, 1 Dr: Brady, 1 Uncertain. [added in pencil:] = 19. 1923- H 12, 11, 1?, 1?, 19, 1a, 14, 1c, 1d, 1k,1 e; OX 939 H, note registered; 1884-M3, G2, M1, G1, M2'. [added in blue pen:] '1902 332 = Z 2783 (14)' and '1891 42 (1) = Z 2783 (16)'. [added in pencil:] '1891.89.4'. [in pencil in the bottom left corner:] '2/5'. [stamped in the bottom right corner:] 'SHOW CASE NUMBER 2'. A small round red sticker pasted to the front of the card. Black and white photographs of the objects stapled to the back of the card.
Catalogue card 3 reads [handwritten in black ink:] '3 LEVUKA, OVALAU Isld; 11 RAKI RAKI / NA VUA VUA; ?5 VITI LEVU RA PROVINCE RAKI RAKI'. Tattooing implements, Case 2, 19 in number: - Taken from some of the Baron von Hugel's notes, - "Bamboo (bitu) case with set of 10 tattooing implements, bati ni veggie "Teeth of the tattooing" (place) Na via via, Raki rake Viti Levu." Case made of the lower part of the internode of a bamboo 240 mm long by 80 mm diameter. "Presented 1875 by the woman who had been in the habit of using them. At this date girls were occasionally tattooed in the Ra district, Viti Levu, but in the interior of the island the practice had not then been abandoned." A.P. Maudslay 3, Von Hugel 11, A.H. Gordon 3, Dr: Brady 1, Unrecorded 1' Show Case 2.
Catalogue card 4 reads [handwritten in black ink:] 'Z. 2783. Tattooing implements, 19 in number, a to o, 11 von Hugel, 3 A.P. Maudslay, 3 A.H. Gordon, 1 Dr: Brady, 1 Uncertain. Show Case number 2' [added in pencil:] = 19. 1923- H 12, 11, 1?, 1?, 19, 1a, 14, 1c, 1d, 1k,1 e; OX 939 H, note registered; 1884-M3, G2, M1, G1, M2. 1902-332. 1891-89-4'. In pencil in the bottom left corner:] '2/5'.
Event Date 11/9/1986
Author: maa


Context (Display)
Exhibited: On loan to Stevenage Museum, UK, for 'Body Art: The Human Canvas,' 4 February to 2 July 2006.
Event Date 4/2/2006
Author: Rachel Hand


Context (CMS Context)
Labels & inscriptions: '1923.H.1c.' inscribed in white ink at the end of the haft. 'Z. 2783 (8) inscribed in white ink at the end of the haft.
Event Date 22/11/2013
Author: Lucie Carreau


Description (CMS Description)
Tattooing adze. Haft of bamboo. Head formed of a trapezoidal piece of ?shell or ?bone, very thin and flat and carved with 10 teeth. The top of the head is pierced with a large round hole through which passes several lengths of very finely plaited (3-ply) coir cords.At the top, the binding forms a pattern of concentric squares. The binding continues for about 4 cm down the haft, forming a diamond pattern. Black pigments visible on the haft, head and binding.
Event Date 22/11/2013
Author: maa


Context (Display)
Exhibited: 'Chiefs & Governors: Art and power in Fiji', Cambridge MAA, 7 June 2013 - 19 April 2014.
Event Date 7/6/2013
Author: Remke van der Velden


Research Visit (Anthropology Photographs)
RES..2532 | Pacific tattooing with am emphasis on Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Julia is a PNG tattooing artist who has marked the Fijians
Event Date 8/11/2018
Author: rachel hand


FM:79422

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