San Cristobal Island, Makira Province, Eastern Solomon Islands
Early 2oth century
Height: 8 inches (20.25 cm)
Provenance: English private collection
The waters surrounding the island of San Cristobal were believed to be home to the sea spirit known as karemanua. This all-powerful half-man, half-fish marine deity possessed the power to overturn canoes and devour fisherman and could hurl deadly arrows of pointed garfish at his enemies. Additionally, it was believed he could also act in a more benevolent fashion and lead fishermen to schools of bonito, and to act as a tutelary to those seeking guidance from the ancestral world.
Carved from delicate turtle shell, the sculptors of these objects were able to capture the animated, living silhouettes of these spirits, in the same way they were represented by the islanders in their mythological drawings collected by the first anthropologists in the region during the mid-19th century. Rendered in classic form, the example presented here portrays the anthropomorphic sea spirit standing atop a pair of fish as he carries another in his grasp. The spirits fish head is adorned with a small pearlescent shell inlay.
Note this is an ESA antique exempt piece of turtle shell and cannot be sold internationally, or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece was made prior to 1972.
San Cristobal Island, Makira Province, Eastern Solomon Islands
Early 2oth century
Height: 8 inches (20.25 cm)
Provenance: English private collection
The waters surrounding the island of San Cristobal were believed to be home to the sea spirit known as karemanua. This all-powerful half-man, half-fish marine deity possessed the power to overturn canoes and devour fisherman and could hurl deadly arrows of pointed garfish at his enemies. Additionally, it was believed he could also act in a more benevolent fashion and lead fishermen to schools of bonito, and to act as a tutelary to those seeking guidance from the ancestral world.
Carved from delicate turtle shell, the sculptors of these objects were able to capture the animated, living silhouettes of these spirits, in the same way they were represented by the islanders in their mythological drawings collected by the first anthropologists in the region during the mid-19th century. Rendered in classic form, the example presented here portrays the anthropomorphic sea spirit standing atop a pair of fish as he carries another in his grasp. The spirits fish head is adorned with a small pearlescent shell inlay.
Note this is an ESA antique exempt piece of turtle shell and cannot be sold internationally, or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece was made prior to 1972.
