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Presentation axe, early 20th century
Wood, rattan, fiber string, plaitwork, bark, greenstone
50.8 x 68.6 x 6.4 cm (20 x 27 x 2 1/2 in.)
The Marcia and John Friede Collection, a Promised Gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco L05.1.289

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: Jolika Collection of New Guinea Art PUBLICATIONS: 2005 - This is an example of the old style of Hagen axes before they were made for sale to Europeans. As Moriarty remarks, "The Hagen axe is also a money spinner and still made as it was in years gone by with perhaps a little more patterned cane work" (1973: 48b). Two types of axes can be distinguished: one for work and the other for ceremonial purposes. The work axes are heavier and their stone axe heads stronger (ibid., 44). The handle is made from a tree branch with part of the tree trunk still intact, which serves as a stand for the cross piece. The T-shape is the main characteristic of Hagen axes, "the splay from socket to blade edge" (Moyne, 1936: 171) mirrored in the wooden section or counterweight of the crosspiece and the quadrangular shape of the axe head. The latter, not unusual for New Guinea, recalls Indonesian and Polynesian axe heads, as "like other Pacific peoples, the Wahgi had a Neolithic technology until contact with outsiders" (O'Hanlon, 1993: 15). The stone for the axe heads was quarried in the Highlands, and the end products were widely distributed. Given their rather fragile stone heads, the axes are rarely used as weapons, and are thrown only when their adversary is a sure hit: "the battle axe is a work of art" has once been noted in a patrol report (O'Hanlon, 1993: 29). They may, however, be used in a threatening manner in the context of ritual displays (see Lowman, 1973: 17). In ceremonial contexts, the axes may be worn at the side, stuck in the bark belt of a dancer (see Strathern, 1971: 85; and Kirk and Strathern, 1981: 74, 76). When danger is present, however, they are kept ready at the shoulder (see Moriarty, 1973: 48b). These axes are highly valued ceremonial items and a favored trade and exchange item. They are also used as marriage gifts and part of the bride price. The groom should present the relatives of his wife with a number of these axes. Thus, without having a practical use, their ceremonial usefulness represents the richness of a particular family group or clan of an entire tribe." (Catalog #584, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 189.)

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axe Presentation Francisco San Museums Arts Fine Gift Promised Friede John Marcia Art Jolika people Melpa Oceania Province Highlands Western Guinea New object Ritual greenstone bark plaitwork string fiber rattan Wood 0709200406050574 A361204 L05.1.289 AOA