O kono (
ajië language) ceremonial "monstrance" axe
New Caledonia
Kanak. Late 19
th - early 20
th century
Nephrite, wood, flying fox fur, plant fibre. H 47 cm
Gift of Nancy Anne Balleidier in 1937
MEG Inv. ETHOC 015441
Geolocate the object
An object of exchange among chiefdoms, this axe increased the clan's power and raised the prestige of an orator who brandished it while he was speaking.
It was given its nickname by one of the officers on the expedition of the French commander Antoine de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux because of its resemblance to the vessel used in the Roman Catholic liturgy to display the consecrated Eucharistic host.
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The Kanak, the first inhabitants of New Caledonia
One morning in September 1774, the explorer James Cook sighted islands on the horizon which he called New Caledonia, because the landscape reminded him of Caledonia, the old name for Scotland, his country of origin.
And yet the island had been inhabited by the Kanak for over 3,000 years. Despite variations in their social systems and art styles, they all share a close relationship to the land and ancestors.
Bibliograpy
- Boulay, Roger (dir.). 1990. De jade et de nacre. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 152-155
- Kasarhérou, Emmanuel et Roger Boulay (dir.). 2013. Kanak. L'art est une parole. Paris: Musée du quai Branly, Actes Sud
