Austral island paddle, Ra'ivavae

Austral Islands, Ra'ivavae
Early nineteenth century
Wood
L. 69cm

"Paddles of this highly decorated kind were perhaps the most collected objects in the Pacific in the first half of the nineteenth century. Well over one thousand exist in collections, and research by Rhys Richards has shown that they were made during a dynamic period of activity by Ra'ivavae carvers around 1820-1840. None can be reliably dated to earlier than this."

"it is possible, after conversion to christianity and the cessation of manufacture of drums and other religious objects, that carvers turned their hands to paddles to supply a local demand for exchange valuables and a European demand for curios."

Hooper
2006 Pacifuc Encounters: Art and divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860
London, British Museum



‘The carved paddles which are so much admired are carved principally with sharks teeth, shells and stones, they still preferring these rude instruments to any of European manufacture.’ Samuel Stutchbury, visitor to Ravavai in 1825.
This paddle is diminutive in size and tightly carved with designs over all surfaces.
The pommel has six female figures performing the Upa Upa dance, they wear large rosettes in their hair.
Little is known as to the function of these paddles although hundreds of examples were collected between the period of 1820 & 1835 during which time the population of the Austral islands dwindled to a handful of people.
Too delicate for actual use they may have been dance objects, it is commonly suggested they were made for a fledgling industry trading them to western travellers. However this is problematic, as the amount of paddles in museums today would have taken a large amount of skilled carvers working constantly on these objects to produce in many sizeable numbers.


The paddle has a deep brown / black glossy patina.
Austral Islands, Central Polynesia.
Acquired from a private French collection.
Early 19th Century.
Height. 80 cm.