id:			118875
accession number:	1940.1078
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.1078
updated:		2022-01-04 15:19:27.274000

Ceremonial Adze, 1800s. Polynesia, Mangaia, Cook Islands, 19th century. Wood, stone, fiber; overall: 10.2 cm (4 in.); blade: 9.3 x 3.6 cm (3 11/16 x 1 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Richard Inglis 1940.1078

title:				Ceremonial Adze
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1899
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Richard Inglis
copyright:			

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culture:	Polynesia, Mangaia, Cook Islands, 19th century
technique:	wood, stone, fiber
department:	Oceania
collection:	Oceanic Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 10.2 cm (4 in.); Blade: 9.3 x 3.6 cm (3 11/16 x 1 7/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
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, the distinctive pattern formed by the sennit lashing was taught to Mangaian craftsman by the gods.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, and Ralph T. Coe. <em>The Imagination of Primitive Man: A Survey of the Arts of the Non-Literate Peoples of the World</em>. Kansas City, Mo: The Museum, 1962.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 82, no 142; Reproduced: p. 83, no. 142
	url:		

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 305
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n329

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 305
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n329

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 417
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n437

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.1078/1940.1078_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.1078/1940.1078_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.1078/1940.1078_full.tif