Short Club Item Number: C1131 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
A flat green-blue jade club with a paddle-like shape and a small handle with a hole in the middle.
History Of Use
This club would have been held by a high-ranking male leader and viewed as a symbol of great mana (prestige). Traditionally, the sharp edge was used to kill someone with a single thrusting blow, to the head (cleaving the upper skull horizontally), the neck (smashing the windpipe) or the body (penetrating the ribs and stopping the heart). This would have carried a significant ancestral name, honouring the holder and those whose lives had been taken.
Iconographic Meaning
This was made from a rare form of nephrite (pounamu) called totoaka, which symbolically represented the streaked blood of fallen enemies. In addition, its white streaking (inanga) and translucency make this club unique.
Specific Techniques
The club's smooth, waxy surface would have been achieved through years of abrasion with fine sand and water.
Item History
- Made in New Zealand
- Owned by Otago Museum
- Received from Otago Museum (Transferring institution)
What
- Name
- Short Club
- Identification Number
- C1131
- Type of Item
- club
- Material
- nephrite mineral
- Manufacturing Technique
- carved and polished
- Overall
- height 31.4 cm, width 10.5 cm, depth 1.0 cm
Who
- Culture
- Maori
- Previous Owner
- Otago Museum
- Received from
- Otago Museum (Transferring institution)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- New Zealand
Other
- Condition
- good
- Current Location
- Case 56