tabua

Mid 19th-Century tabua made from whales tooth with a honey coloured patina pierced horizontally at the tip and vertically at the butt, and shaped to be almost symmetrical. On the underside are two large roughly chipped holes which converge in the centre. The cord is single plaited coir cord, probably 20th century, and engraved on the convex side are the letters V and S; they aren’t part of a name, and seem somewhat random.

Tabua are modified teeth that were an important ceremonial valuable within traditional Fijian economic interactions with the people of Tonga, where this tooth originated.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
14.86
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 175 mm x 170 mm x 46 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
sperm whale ivory; coconut fibre
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
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Collection Information

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