Lot 7B
French Polynesia, Marquesas Islands, ca. middle 19th century CE. A superb example of a ceremonial Marquesan tapuvae, or stilt step, intricately carved from dense hardwood. This tapering, architectural form was originally affixed to a long wooden pole and worn during ritual or high-status stilt-walking performances. The present piece features an incised anthropomorphic tiki figure, seated with flexed limbs and bearing Marquesan tattoo-like geometric patterning across the body and head. The projecting crescent-shaped platform at the top served as a footrest, while the lower spike would have been set into the main shaft. The expressive, large-eyed figure with its pronounced brow ridge, angular shoulders, and stylized anatomical detailing is characteristic of the Marquesan sculptural canon, echoing motifs seen on club hilts, architectural elements, and ritual ornaments. Size: 2.75" W x 15" H (7 cm x 38.1 cm); 16.25" H (41.3 cm) on included custom stand.
While stilt-walking was widely practiced across Polynesia, only in the Marquesas were such figural and decorated stilt steps created and then only for elite ceremonial display, never for common use. Comparable examples are held in the collections of the British Museum, Musée du quai Branly, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Ralph T. Coe Legacy Instruments of Passion At The Santa Fe Show August 9-13, 2013/El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe Aug 14-30, 2013. This exhibition was comprised of approximately thirty-six objects from the Ralph T. Coe Foundation collection of Native American, African, and Oceanic objects. This selection is representative of Teds collecting interests over his lifetime and is curated by Bruce Bernstein with Tad Dale and assisted by Lisa Hsu Barrera, Ralph T. Coe Foundation Fellow 2013.
Provenance: Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, Purchased from Taylor (Tad) Dale Gallery in July 2006.
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#196396
- Condition: Intact and excellent with only a few minor scuffs.
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