DescriptionDance Club, Fiji
Length: 34 in (86.4 cm)Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact paul.lewis@sothebys.com Catalogue noteThis form of club has historically been referred to as gugu; Clunie states that “the clubs were named and decorated after the broad, flat gugu butterfly fishes” (Fergus Clunie, Fijian Weapons and Warfare, Bulletin of the Fiji Museum, No. 2, Suva, 1977, p. 54). Clunie notes that “the Fijian name is often mis-spelt ququ, leading Dr [Alan] Tippett to suggest tentatively and cautiously that they may have been modelled after pig trotters and used in the naga rites of inland Viti Levu.” (ibid.). Although Clunie dismisses ququ in favour of gugu, Steven Hooper has suggested that the former is correct since the linguist Paul Geraghty “has failed to identify a fish” named gugu. (Steven Hooper, ed., Power and Prestige: The Art of Clubs in Oceania, Milan, 2021, p. 288). Hooper notes that ququ “means the lower leg or hoof of an animal, which is naturally bent” (ibid.), although he does not refer to the model suggested by Tippett.
Whether referred to as gugu or ququ, certain features serve to distinguish this form from that of the similar siriti. The gugu or ququ is smaller and has a head that has a more pronounced flare and turns more sharply away from the shaft. Both forms have elaborately decorated heads, with a pattern of finely incised lines characteristic of the gugu or ququ. These lines cover every surface of the head of this club, including the edges. The complex arrangement of projecting reliefs and bosses seen here is characteristic of both siriti and gugu or ququ. The shaft is often of elliptical section, as it is here, and, in contrast with the head, it is invariably left plain.
Like siriti, gugu or ququ are thought to come from the interior of the island of Viti Levu and to have been made for use in dances rather than in war; Hooper notes that “there is no doubt they were used as dance accessories, perhaps exclusively so.” (ibid., p. 289).
DescriptionDance Club, Fiji
Length: 34 in (86.4 cm)Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact paul.lewis@sothebys.com Catalogue noteThis form of club has historically been referred to as gugu; Clunie states that “the clubs were named and decorated after the broad, flat gugu butterfly fishes” (Fergus Clunie, Fijian Weapons and Warfare, Bulletin of the Fiji Museum, No. 2, Suva, 1977, p. 54). Clunie notes that “the Fijian name is often mis-spelt ququ, leading Dr [Alan] Tippett to suggest tentatively and cautiously that they may have been modelled after pig trotters and used in the naga rites of inland Viti Levu.” (ibid.). Although Clunie dismisses ququ in favour of gugu, Steven Hooper has suggested that the former is correct since the linguist Paul Geraghty “has failed to identify a fish” named gugu. (Steven Hooper, ed., Power and Prestige: The Art of Clubs in Oceania, Milan, 2021, p. 288). Hooper notes that ququ “means the lower leg or hoof of an animal, which is naturally bent” (ibid.), although he does not refer to the model suggested by Tippett.
Whether referred to as gugu or ququ, certain features serve to distinguish this form from that of the similar siriti. The gugu or ququ is smaller and has a head that has a more pronounced flare and turns more sharply away from the shaft. Both forms have elaborately decorated heads, with a pattern of finely incised lines characteristic of the gugu or ququ. These lines cover every surface of the head of this club, including the edges. The complex arrangement of projecting reliefs and bosses seen here is characteristic of both siriti and gugu or ququ. The shaft is often of elliptical section, as it is here, and, in contrast with the head, it is invariably left plain.
Like siriti, gugu or ququ are thought to come from the interior of the island of Viti Levu and to have been made for use in dances rather than in war; Hooper notes that “there is no doubt they were used as dance accessories, perhaps exclusively so.” (ibid., p. 289).
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