A FINE AND RARE NIUE ISLAND SPEAR

Estimated Value:

6.000 € - 10.000 €

Result:

11.007 € incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

Oceania, Niue Island
L. 238 cm
The elongated arrow widens in a fan shape before narrowing to a long tip, the whole structured by a center rib carved in low relief. The handle of the stem is covered with a thick ligature of very finely woven plant fibers in alternating shades of beige and brown, with the tapered end forming the balance wheel. Beautiful, reddish brown, nuanced patina. Old collector's label.
Important Bavarian private collection, purchased at Sotheby's Paris, March 5, 2006, lot 25, an exceptional Fiji islands collection
Cf. a very similar Niue spear from the collection of Dr. Augustin Kramer, auctioned at Bonhams New York, Nov. 11, 2010, lot 6033. Kramer was a German physician, anthropologist and explorer in Oceania in the 19th century. The Niue Islands, long known as the Wild Islands, were discovered by Captain Cook in 1774

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