Bonito Fish Figure
Item number 2642/5 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.
Item number 2642/5 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.
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Carved bonito fish with long nose that tapers to a pointed end, and an open mouth. There are two protruding side fins, one protruding dorsal fin, a smaller fin near the tail, and two smaller fins on the underside of the fish. The surface of the body is inlaid with triangular-shaped, off-white pava shells set into what appears to be resin. There are two circular shells for eyes and a diamond shaped shell on the top of the head.
This bonito fish carving is modelled on larger versions that had cavities carved in them to hold ancestral skulls. The larger versions of the fish were kept in the canoe house, alongside the war canoes, and smaller versions, such as this one, were made for travellers.
This carving was collected by Frank Burnett in 1909 in the Solomons. Burnett kept it in his curio room until giving it to his granddaughter, Josephine Groves, who took it to Oregon, where it remained until her death in 2002. It then travelled south to San Diego with her son Eric Groves, who donated it to MOA in 2004, to be reunited with the rest of the Burnett collection.
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This carving was collected by Frank Burnett in 1909 in the Solomons. Burnett kept it in his curio room until giving it to his granddaughter, Josephine Groves, who took it to Oregon, where it remained until her death in 2002. It then travelled south to San Diego with her son Eric Groves, who donated it to MOA in 2004, to be reunited with the rest of the Burnett collection.
Carved bonito fish with long nose that tapers to a pointed end, and an open mouth. There are two protruding side fins, one protruding dorsal fin, a smaller fin near the tail, and two smaller fins on the underside of the fish. The surface of the body is inlaid with triangular-shaped, off-white pava shells set into what appears to be resin. There are two circular shells for eyes and a diamond shaped shell on the top of the head.
This bonito fish carving is modelled on larger versions that had cavities carved in them to hold ancestral skulls. The larger versions of the fish were kept in the canoe house, alongside the war canoes, and smaller versions, such as this one, were made for travellers.
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