Club
ClassificationsArms and Armor-clubs
Culture
Sulka
Date20th Century
Made AtEast New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood
Dimensions34 3/8 × 4 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (87.3 × 11.4 × 11.4 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2021.7.78
DescriptionThis wooden club comes from the Sulka people of Papua New Guinea's East New Britain Province. The shape of the club head mimics that of a pandanus fruit.War clubs were very common in the islands that make up Melanesia, including the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Guinea. Primarily wielded in tribal conflicts, clubs made of heavy wood and occasionally fitted with stone heads were highly effective bludgeoning tools. War clubs had other uses too. They could be employed in agriculture and symbolic war clubs were often created for the sole purpose of being placed beside a deceased warrior as they prepared for the journey into the afterworld.
On View
On viewCollections
20th Century
20th Century
19th Century
19th Century
20th Century
20th Century
20th Century
late 19th Century
20th Century
20th Century