ETHOC 009804

étrier d’échasse tapuvae

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009804
Tapuvae stilt step
French Polynesia, Marquesas Islands
Late 19th – early 20th century
Wood. H 37 cm
Gift of Albert Reverdin in 1923
MEG Inv. ETHOC 009804
Geolocate the object
During the great ritual ceremonies commemorating the dead, it was forbidden to make war. Allied or enemy tribes gathered around the tohua, the public square, to play games and perform dances. Boys of high rank, perched on carved stilts, engaged in sometimes brutal contests during these ritual fests.

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French Polynesia

French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic, is composed of about 118 volcanic or coral islands, grouped in five archipelagos: the Society Islands, the Marquesas Islands, the Austral Islands, the Gambier Islands and the Tuamotu Islands.

Despite their political ties to France, the people of these archipelagos have and express a strong sense of their Polynesian identity.

Signs of rank, power and prestige

Works from this part of the world give us the opportunity to address the issues of power and prestige and show the communicative capacity of art. Ornamental objects such as jewellery and accessories, as well as weapons, can become status symbols and reveal the codes that distinguish human beings, signalling the gender, age group and rank of the wearer.

Bibliograpy

  • Hooper, Steven. 2008. Arts et divinités 1760-1860. Paris: Musée du Quai Branly, 155

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