Admiralty Carvers Adze Handle

Date	19th/20th century
Period	1850-1900, 19th century, 20th century
Origin	Melanesia
Medium	Wood with lime and ocher
Dimensions	43.7 cm (17¹/₄ inches)
Gallery	Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art

Description
Technical

A small master-carver adze-handle, or dellei. The figure carved on the heel is a male ancestral representation wearing a coif shaped like a European hat. The handle which is slotted for a thin stone blade is incised with zig-zag decor representing a crocodile maw and the butt is decorated with a three-dimensional crocodile. Pak Island (?), Admiralty Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, PNG, Melanesia.

Date: 19th/20th century
Period: 1850-1900, 19th century, 20th century
Origin: Melanesia
Medium: Wood with lime and ocher
Dimensions: 43.7 cm (17¹/₄ inches)
Provenance: Acquired from Herma Visser.
Literature: Illustrated : Art of the Pacific Islands & Eskimo Art - TEFAF 2012, Galerie Meyer, N° 24.
Categories: Tribal Art