Ceremonial Adze
Unknown Artist
1800s
Medium
wood, stone, fiber
Dimensions
w. 10.2 cm, l. 124.4 cm · blade: w. 9.3 cm, d. 3.6 cm, l. 20.7 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Oceania
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Richard Inglis
Accession Number
1940.1078
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Before European contact, Polynesian carving tools were fashioned from bone, shell, stone, or teeth. The introduction of iron tools facilitated carving, while the demand of European sailors and missionaries for souvenirs provided a new market for craft products. Ceremonial adzes probably represented gods or spirits. The wooden handle of this example is carved with the characteristic K motif. The stone adze blade is lashed to the handle with finely plaited sennit fiber cord. According to legend, t...