Ritual Shark Hook, Rennell Islands, Polynesian Outliers

gaung'akao
height of hook 8in (20cm)

Provenance
Australian Private Collection
Taylor A. Dale, Santa Fe
Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection, Honolulu
Important California Private Collection

Published
Kaeppler, Adrienne, Polynesia - The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 2010, fig. 227

According to Kaeppler (ibid., p. 272), "Ritual hooks were used by the priest of the island to invoke the gods before fishing and were considered taboo."

Finely carved in hard dark brown wood with tightly-woven sennit fiber attached and forming a loop at the top; wear and patina indicative of significant age and cultural use.