14th C. Pre-Contact Hawaiian Stone Adze
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Description
**First Time At Auction**
North Pacific, Hawaiian Islands, Pre-Contact period, ca. 14th to 18th century CE. A huge and heavy gray basalt adze (adz) head, probably quarried from Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The tool is made for cutting, smoothing, and carving wood. The stone was painstakingly shaped from a quarried rectangular piece of basalt by chipping at it with a hammerstone. The result of careful flaking is this useful tool: a hefty blade with a sharp, sloped edge, a thick body, and a long, rectangular tang. The tang would have been hafted to a bent wooden handle with fibrous cords and used by swinging the adze in a downward cutting motion. Adzes are called "ko'i" in Polynesia, and it seems they were traded widely; axes from Hawaii have even been found thousands of miles away in what is now French Polynesia! Size: 7.5" L x 1.5" W (19 cm x 3.8 cm)
Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA Collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most Antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
#141734
North Pacific, Hawaiian Islands, Pre-Contact period, ca. 14th to 18th century CE. A huge and heavy gray basalt adze (adz) head, probably quarried from Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The tool is made for cutting, smoothing, and carving wood. The stone was painstakingly shaped from a quarried rectangular piece of basalt by chipping at it with a hammerstone. The result of careful flaking is this useful tool: a hefty blade with a sharp, sloped edge, a thick body, and a long, rectangular tang. The tang would have been hafted to a bent wooden handle with fibrous cords and used by swinging the adze in a downward cutting motion. Adzes are called "ko'i" in Polynesia, and it seems they were traded widely; axes from Hawaii have even been found thousands of miles away in what is now French Polynesia! Size: 7.5" L x 1.5" W (19 cm x 3.8 cm)
Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA Collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most Antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
#141734
Condition
Age and use expected weathering. Losses and chips to cutting edge, and underside of blade. Traces of old label adhesive reside on underside and top of blade. Highly polished surfaces and areas of russet patina.
Buyer's Premium
- 24.5%
14th C. Pre-Contact Hawaiian Stone Adze
Estimate $600 - $900
6 bidders are watching this item.
Shipping & Pickup Options
Item located in Louisville, CO, usOffers In-House Shipping
Local Pickup Available
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