id:			138884
accession number:	1963.255
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.255
updated:		2023-03-20 14:14:16.485000

War Club ('U'u), early 1800s. Polynesia, Marquesas Islands, early 19th Century. Stained ironwood; overall: 148.2 x 19.8 x 11.2 cm (58 3/8 x 7 13/16 x 4 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund 1963.255

title:				War Club ('U'u)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			early 1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1830
current location:		
creditline:			James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Polynesia, Marquesas Islands, early 19th Century
technique:	stained ironwood
department:	Oceania
collection:	Oceanic Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 148.2 x 19.8 x 11.2 cm (58 3/8 x 7 13/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review (1963)
	opening date:   1963-11-27T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review (1963)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).

	title:		Polynesian Sculpture
	opening date:   1967-11-15T05:00:00
	<i>Polynesian Sculpture</i>. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 15, 1967-January 1, 1968); The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, NY (February 14-May 14, 1968).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Harry Beasley
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Harry Beasley
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
The head of this war club is carved as an abstract face, with small additional faces appearing at the eyes, nose, and forehead.  Low-relief patterns encircle the club's neck.  Fashioned from dense-grained ironwood (casuarina) or toa wood, the club is quite heavy.  Like stilt footrests, war clubs were carved by expert artists (tahuna) and cured in the mud of a taro patch.  The glossy finish is the result of regular rubbing and polishing with scented coconut oil.  Similar war clubs were seen and recorded by the crew of Captain Cook's second voyage to the South Seas in 1772-75.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1963.255/1963.255_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1963.255/1963.255_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1963.255/1963.255_full.tif