Lance/stick

Museum number: UEM185

Material: Wood

Region and culture: Possible Cook Island, French Polynesia or New Zealand

Description: Wooden lance or staff. Though its documentation states it derives from New Zealand, most likely it originated in the Austral Islands, due to its conical knot being identical to the wooden paddle (UEM160). The staff is approximate 2,3 m long. The knot consist of eight carved human heads, followed by a field of carved zig-zagging shark tooth patterns, along with a linear pattern field as well. The entire staff is very finely polished. The object had most likely a ceremonial function. Its production date is not known, but it was probably acquired around 1856. The lanse would have been carved with either metal tools introduced after European contact or with their own indigenous carving tools such as shark teeth or shell. Most objects from the Austral Islands are composed of three design elements: concentric circles, minute rows of nested crescents, and x-shaped motifs. However, the motifs found on different objects are used in such a vast array of combinations, that no two objects would appear the same.