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"Curator's Choice"
Ceremonial adz
Cook Islands, Mangaia
Collected by Francis L. A. Pioche, before 1873, acc. 1904.
11-18
This is one of the earliest pieces to enter the anthropology collections of the University of California. It was part of a large collection of natural history specimens donated by Pioche, a wealthy San Francisco banker. It was later transferred to the UC Anthropology Museum. "On Mangaia, southernmost of the Cook Islands, a unique form of ceremonial adz was developed, with a highly elaborated, ornamentally carved handle. These adzes were used in religious ceremonies, and may have represented or been used to invoke important ancestors. The Hearst Museum has three such Mangaian adzes in its collection, of which this is the finest example." Patrick V. Kirch (Curator of Oceanic Archaeology). |
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