Lot Essay
Whisks with Janus figure finials were attributed to the Society Islands because the reference 'Otaheite' on 18th and 19th century labels was taken to mean the island of Tahiti, when it is now realised that a wider area to include other islands of the Society group as well as those of the Austral (and sometimes the Cook) Islands was intended. Roger Rose (1979) in his examination of the corpus has shown that, although very probably used in the Society Islands, they are likely to have been made in Rurutu and Tupua'i (Austral Islands), or by craftsmen from those islands - a situation that also applies to the large drums. It is probable that skilled craftsmen from the Austral Islands were working for Tahitian chiefs in the 18th century, or that the chiefs obtained such fine products via gift exchange.
The present example is one of seven flywhisks documented by Rose (1979, p. 213) as Type C - four others are in the British Museum, one in Edinburgh (Idiens, 1982, p. 23) and one in Auckland (Oldman, 1943, Pls. 11 and 12). The distinguishing feature of Type C whisks is the fluted handle of octagonal section decorated with chevrons, which otherwise resemble Type B (which have spool handles). Types B and C (two of the former have Cook Voyage provenances - see Kaeppler, 1978, p. 162) are contrasted by Rose with the larger Type A whisks. Of the last he concludes (1979, p. 212) Their relative abundance and indifferent craftsmanship lead naturally enough to the inference that the style may have been copied by a school of wood-carvers using metal tools to turn out objects for trade on the burgeoning curio market. On the other hand, Type B and, particularly, Type C whisks are numerically less common and do not so consistently show evidence of having been carved with metal implements. These types may have been abandoned at an earlier date.
The present example shows an elegant balance between the component parts of figure finial, waisted handle and coir-bound shaft, a sculptural quality which informs the best of Central Polynesian art.
The present example is one of seven flywhisks documented by Rose (1979, p. 213) as Type C - four others are in the British Museum, one in Edinburgh (Idiens, 1982, p. 23) and one in Auckland (Oldman, 1943, Pls. 11 and 12). The distinguishing feature of Type C whisks is the fluted handle of octagonal section decorated with chevrons, which otherwise resemble Type B (which have spool handles). Types B and C (two of the former have Cook Voyage provenances - see Kaeppler, 1978, p. 162) are contrasted by Rose with the larger Type A whisks. Of the last he concludes (1979, p. 212) Their relative abundance and indifferent craftsmanship lead naturally enough to the inference that the style may have been copied by a school of wood-carvers using metal tools to turn out objects for trade on the burgeoning curio market. On the other hand, Type B and, particularly, Type C whisks are numerically less common and do not so consistently show evidence of having been carved with metal implements. These types may have been abandoned at an earlier date.
The present example shows an elegant balance between the component parts of figure finial, waisted handle and coir-bound shaft, a sculptural quality which informs the best of Central Polynesian art.