A Pair of Fijian Hardwood Throwing Clubs (i Ula)

A pair of carved indigenous hardwood throwing clubs (i Ula), Fiji, dating from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Each club has been shaped from a single length of dense timber, carefully counterbalanced to serve as a missile or close-quarters weapon.

The first example terminates in a finely fluted bulbous head, deeply lobed with stylized gadrooning and surmounted by a rounded apical boss. The second displays a smoothly turned spherical head, highlighting the natural figure and weight of the rootstock wood. Both shafts taper gracefully toward the butt, where they are embellished with deeply incised tavatava grip carving arranged in repeating zig-zag and cross-hatched bands. The timber exhibits an appealing, handling-worn dark patina throughout, with warm undertones and authentic age-related shrinkage checks.