Club, Marquesas Islands

U'u

Private collection, England
Kevin Conru, Brussels
American private collection, acquired from the above in 2004

Very good condition overall, wear consistent with age and use within the traditional context. Some small chips, nicks, scratches, and losses in places, including old losses to both sides of the central part of the top edge of the club (one side as visible in the catalogue illustration). Nuanced brown patina.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This club, u'u, is carved from a dense heavy wood (Casuarina equisetifolia) known to the Marquesans as toa. Toa is also the Marquesan word for warrior, and an u'u was the warrior's usual weapon and insignia.

The purpose of the u'u was to render the owner powerful and invulnerable. Whilst as a heavy war club it served this purpose in a very literal sense, it also possessed a spiritual dimension. The anthropologist Alfred Gell has suggested that in the Marquesas Islands all imagery, whether carved or tattooed, is a vehicle for atua (gods) "[...] in a tutelary and watchful guardian mode." (Hooper 2006: 163). The imagery on the club does not 'represent' atua, figuratively or abstractly, but rather it constitutes the protective presence of the gods within the object itself.

The head of an u'u is always carved on either side with similar but subtly different imagery which depicts a series of faces looking in various directions. Considering Gell's theory, and the traditional belief in the Marquesas of the sacrilege of approaching a chief or warrior from behind, it seems probable that the janiform aspect of these clubs may form another side of their protective power.