Ceremonial Paddle
Unknown Artist
1700s-1800s
Medium
wood
Dimensions
115 × 24.7 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Oceania
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Robert W. Mettner by exchange
Accession Number
1977.29
About this artwork
Fine, chip-carved patterns cover the blades and shafts of Austral Islands ceremonial paddles. Squatting human figures carved around the butt are called tiki tiki tangata, meaning man-gods. The shafts of early paddles are usually round in cross-section; 19th-century examples are sometimes square. The function of the intricately carved Austral Islands paddles is uncertain. They may have been displayed on ceremonial occasions, such as dances, pageants, ancestral rituals, or inaugurations.