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Is this really a Hawaiian carving?...

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K
Kono posted on Sun, Oct 10, 2004 6:24 PM

This was listed on ebay a couple of weeks ago. The seller's from Australia and they sell figures and carvings primarily from PNG, New Zealand, Indonesia etc. The seller lists this as a carving from Hawaii.

Here's the description by the seller:
"An unusual Hawaiian figure. We found this one at a local market, so unfortunately have little information about it. Carved from a heavy dense wood, with a large open mouthed grimace bearing teeth. The hands have sockets in them we presume to hold some kind of attachment. There are traces of some kind of lacquer on the back of the head and body of the figure. Weathered patina, with some old splitting in the wood, and a little loss on the base wich is uneven requiring assistance to stand. A great little figure, with a real presence."

Obviously, this piece bears a bit of a resemblance to The Creature from The Black Lagoon! Is this a legit Hawaiian carving style? Or did some carver just get a little whimsical? Is this supposed to be Kanaloa? Anyone seen this style before?

Here's the pic (I don't know how fotki's going to show this odd sized pic):

Here's the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3748739600&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

I seem to remember a discussion here about a Hawaiian shirt (maybe?) that had a similar looking Black Lagoon type creature. Anyone seen anything like this before?

T

It's definitelly not a traditional Hawaiian carving. I'm a grad student who is constantlly researching (looking at pictures) of all Oceanic books, and haven't seen any like this. The fangs are not typically traditional. The big chest and inward turned knees/ feet are kind of Hawaiian, but the roundness of the cheeks, nose, and visible pupils are not like any Hawaiian carvings I've seen. But I am no expert, and if I were to guess where it came from, I'd say Bali, because it looks similar to the masks found there with a body "inspired" by Hawaii.

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