War Club ('U'u)
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- 6 hours ago
- In this state since
- Aug 19, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the sculpture
The head of this war club is carved as an abstract face, with small additional faces appearing at the eyes, nose, and forehead. Low-relief patterns encircle the club's neck. Fashioned from dense-grained ironwood (casuarina) or toa wood, the club is quite heavy. Like stilt footrests, war clubs were carved by expert artists (tahuna) and cured in the mud of a taro patch. The glossy finish is the result of regular rubbing and polishing with scented coconut oil. Similar war clubs were seen and recorded by the crew of Captain Cook's second voyage to the South Seas in 1772-75.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1963.255
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 6 days ago
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
