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THBHuge Rare Pre-Contact Hawaiian Stone Adze
Lot 136
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$4,000 - $6,000
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Dec 5, 2019
Set Reminder
2019-12-05 10:00:00
2019-12-05 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Ancient / Ethnographic - Holiday Edition
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic---holiday-edition-4710
What to give this holiday season? Ancient & Ethnographic Art of course! Our special Holiday auction features hundreds of unique finds from all over the world. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
What to give this holiday season? Ancient & Ethnographic Art of course! Our special Holiday auction features hundreds of unique finds from all over the world. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (402)
- Lot Description
Polynesia, Hawaiian Islands, ca. 1400 CE. A huge, heavy grey basalt adz (adze), probably quarried from Mauna Kea, Hawaii, hand-knapped, and made to be used for cutting, smoothing, and carving wood. The surface has attained a beautiful orange-red patina. It was painstakingly shaped from a quarried rectangular piece of basalt by chipping at it with a hammerstone. The end result of those hours of work is this: a huge blade with a sharp, sloped edge, a thick body, and a long, rectangular tang used for hafting. It would have been attached to a bent wooden handle and used by swinging it in a downward cutting motion. Adzes are called "ko'i" in Polynesia, and it seems they were traded widely; indeed, axes from Hawaii have been found thousands of miles away in what is now French Polynesia, demonstrating the incredible skill of Polynesian navigators. Size: 2.5" W x 9.2" H (6.4 cm x 23.4 cm); 11.65" H (29.6 cm) on included custom stand.
The Adz Quarry at Mauna Kea is the largest primitive rock quarry in the world, used from around 1000 CE, with intensification of use around 1400 CE (the Hawaiian Islands were settled by seafaring Polynesians around 300 to 600 CE). The vast area includes quarries - both at surface and sub-surface - as well as workshops, living quarters, and religious shrines. Most of these are located between 11,000 and 12,400 feet in elevation. There were only a few other basalt adze quarries in the archipelago - all major locations in the ancient Hawaiian landscape. Hawaiians sought basalt specifically because of its hardness and because it would hold an edge. Adzes were incredibly important tools, used to shape everything from canoes to idols.
Provenance: ex-private Maui, Hawaii, 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.
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#150476Excellent condition with rich red patina. A few tiny losses from use.Condition
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