1960s Hand Carved Teak Canoe Ornament Figurine

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Description

You learn something new everyday. This is the ideal gift for any boat lover or any home that appreciates a … Read more You learn something new everyday. This is the ideal gift for any boat lover or any home that appreciates a good luck talisman intended for warriors to protect their boats from evil spirits and take them on successful expeditions. When Queen Elizabeth traveled to the Solomon Islands in the 1950s, she was given a ceremonial one which now resides at The British Museum.

This piece is very sturdy hand carved teak with shell or mother of pearl inlay for the eyes and cheeks. The back is carved with a triangular indent to be strapped to the prow of a canoe. But it will look spectacular on a shelf or desk.

From The Metropolitan Museum:
Canoes in the western Solomon Islands were essential to transportation, fishing, and warfare. In former times, they were lavishly adorned. The centerpiece of the prow was a distinctive figurehead, known variously as a nguzu nguzu, musu musu, or toto isu. Attached at the waterline so that it dipped in the sea as the canoe rode the waves, the figurehead reportedly served as a supernatural protector, ensuring safe passage and a successful expedition. The images are typically busts depicted with large heads wearing circular ear ornaments and small arms with the hands raised to the chin or clasping a head or bird. The jutting jaws of the images were reportedly attributes of spirits, and nguzu nguzu are sometimes said to depict, or
afford protection from, dangerous sea spirits called kesoko.


Measures 8.625" tall, 3" wide, 4.5" deep See less