Fiji Kalibitu Headrest Ex Leo Fleischmann

A very fine bamboo kalibitu type headrest with the two iron wood feet sewn to the underside of the neck-bar. The bamboo section retains the nodes (thin separator walls) at either end so that the holes for the attachment of the feet are only accessible from the outside. The technique of invisible lashings seems to be unique to Fiji, Samoa & Tonga in Western Polynesia. On this example the feet are thick, profiled, arched sections that terminate with a flattened beveled edge - reminiscent, if seen from the side, of the square sectioned feet on Tongan headrests.

Fiji, Polynesia.
Barnboo, iron-wood & coconut fiber.
46. 7 x 11.3 x 14.4
19th century.

 

Provenance Ex collection Leo Fleischmann, Sydney, inv. N° LF / I80.

Literature: Pub. :
Meyer, Anthony JP. : Oceanic Art / Ozeanische Kunst / Art Oceanien, Könemann Verlag, Köln, 1995, fig. 534, p. 467.
Oceanic Headrests - Sleep with the Ancestors, Galerie Meyer, Paris, 2004, N° 55, p. 81