Question about an item

i got this item on ebay, sorry if i out bid any one for it. i'm not 100% sure what it is or were it comes from. i have alot of questions and was hoping someone would have some answers.

the ebay auction said it comes from american Soma, but to me it seems very Marquesan. the ebay auction also said it was a hammer or a war club. does anyone know what this type of item is and which island group it would come from?

another question deals with the rock on top, which to me doesn't seem like the right type of rock, does any one know if this is the type/style of rock or if there is suppose to be a different one. the rock right know is held on with a rubber band, and i wanted to know what it would have been held on with origanally and if you have a picture or the style of rapping you could post it.

pictures below

thanks

Well, it does appear to be Marquesian, and I do believe the "rubber band" is authentic.

This in light of the fact that the early Marquesians did have knowledge of the rubber plant, and were the first known polynesians to use comdoms (I hope).

Now this is what I need to do Tiki Hits (not to be confused with bong, or is that Bong hits)! Gonna retire the ol' Tiki .308 and get back to roots...

:)
em.

So you're the one who won that! I wasn't bidding, just watching. It's good to see better pics of it.

What I can say is that it is obviously purely decorative. But that does not make it a tourist item. Many of the weapons and almost all of the shields were meant as spiritual items and for decorating.

On 2003-10-10 17:49, Tiki_Bong wrote:
Well, it does appear to be Marquesian, and I do believe the "rubber band" is authentic.

This in light of the fact that the early Marquesians did have knowledge of the rubber plant, and were the first known polynesians to use comdoms (I hope).

I do believe the carpet might be from the Stain Master origin.

Wow...that's a nice one, although fairly recent. What you have there is a Marquesan Authority Adze. Stone tipped Adze are found throughout South Pacific culture. The Maori used many as well and tipped them with jade. They were for the denotation of chiefdom, much like a king in western culture might carry a baton or staff. The rubber is incorrect, the binding would be of sinew, coconut fiber, or woven, braided raffia. Sometimes the handles of the ones such as this in the Marquesas were rolled with Tapa cloth. Neat piece.

thanks everyone for the help, i new it was a newer item, but thought it would look good in my room and the price, $25 including shipping and handling from Guam was within my range.

dude, you got to get to the Oceanic Arts section at school, if you haven't already. All the answers you ever wanted lie within those books. I'm going thru withdrawels not having that library around anymore. nice piece, by the way, real nice, i'm probably going to copy it now..