ETHOC 041782

pagaie cérémonielle

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041782
Ceremonial paddle
French Polynesia, Austral Islands, Ra'ivavae
Late 19th - early 20th century
Wood. H 86 cm
Gift of the painter Émile Chambon in 1981
MEG Inv. ETHOC 041782
Geolocate the object
These ceremonial paddles were probably used by high-ranking people to paddle their canoes during great events. After conversion to Christianity, the artists ceased to produce drums and other religious objects and in 1820-1840 they carved paddles to trade with the Europeans.

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Registres d'inventaires historiques

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Inventaire original MEG. Registres tapuscrits, volumes 19 à 59
Registres_tapuscrits/41782.pdf

 

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

  • FUERST, René. 1988. Navigateurs des mers du Sud. Catalogue d'exposition. Genève: Musée d'ethnographie., 164-167
  • Fuerst, René. 1994. Bois sculptés des mers du sud. Ivrea (Italie) : Priuli & Verlucca, Musée d'ethnographie de Genève, 70, 71, 79
  • Hooper, Steven. 2008. Arts et divinités 1760-1860. Paris: Musée du Quai Branly, 216

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