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a close up of a wooden stick with a metal handlean old hammer with a wooden handle on a white backgroundan old walking stick with a wooden handle and a metal handlea close up of a wooden stick with a lion head on it
Maître Jean Emmanuel PRUNIER

2 - "Totokia", a carved wooden war hammer with a beautiful black…
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Sale commission
Description
"Totokia", a carved wooden war hammer with a beautiful black patina; the spherical head, studded with bristling spikes, resembles the fruit of the Pandanus palm, the handle is decorated with triangular geometric incisions; the head and body of the club have retained their plant-fibre decoration. Fiji, first half of the 19th century, H. 96 cm. Comparable example: Ligabue Collection, Venice, reproduced in the catalogue *Fidji Face à Face, 1838*. Fergus Clunie in *Fijian Weapons and Warfare* (Bulletin 2, Fiji Museum, Suva, Fiji, 1977) states that ‘Totokia clubs were designed to inflict serious damage to the enemy’s skull, the weight of the club being concentrated in its rounded end, which terminates in a point. These clubs were often carried by chiefs during their lifetime and accompanied them at funeral ceremonies held in their honour.”
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About the sale TRANSFORMING MATERIALS
Auction location
Auction time 11/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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