Cultural History In Focus | “Tongan Club Iconography: An Attempt to Unravel Visual Metaphors Through Myth” by Frans-Karel Weener

Carved Fly Whisk | Fue Kafa | Tonga © Weltmuseum Wien — Carved Fly Whisk | *Fue Kafa* | Tonga
© Weltmuseum Wien

Tongan Club Iconography

An Attempt to Unravel Visual Metaphors Through Myth

by Frans-Karel Weener

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This article was generously provided by Frans-Karel Weener.

Carved Whalebone Club | Tonga © Los Angeles County Museum of Art — Carved Whalebone Club | Tonga
© Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Carved Whalebone Female Figure | Tonga © The British Museum — Carved Whalebone Female Figure | Tonga
© The British Museum

Decorated Wood Food Hook | Tonga © The British Museum — Decorated Wood Food Hook | Tonga
© The British Museum

Carved Whalebone Female Figure | Tonga © Weltmuseum Wien — Carved Whalebone Female Figure | Tonga
© Weltmuseum Wien

Carved Wood Club | Tonga © Weltmuseum Wien — Carved Wood Club | Tonga
© Weltmuseum Wien

Tongan or Fijian Whalebone Figure © Penn Museum — Tongan or Fijian Whalebone Figure
© Penn Museum

Carved Wood Short Club | `akau-tā | Tonga © Museum of New Zealand — Te Papa Tongarewa — Carved Wood Short Club | *`akau-tā* | Tonga
© Museum of New Zealand — Te Papa Tongarewa

Carved Whalebone Female Figure © The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Carved Whalebone Female Figure
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Double Figure Hook | Tonga or Fiji © Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, Cambridge University — Double Figure Hook | Tonga or Fiji
© Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, Cambridge University

Carved Wood Female Figure | Tonga © Field Museum of Natural History — Carved Wood Female Figure | Tonga
© Field Museum of Natural History

Carved Whalebone Club | Tonga © The British Museum — Carved Whalebone Club | Tonga
© The British Museum

Whalebone Chest Pectoral | Tonga © The British Museum — Whalebone Chest Pectoral | Tonga
© The British Museum

Large Wood Club (Captain Cook) | Tonga © The British Museum — Large Wood Club (Captain Cook) | Tonga
© The British Museum

Pair of Carved Whalebone Clubs | Tonga © The British Museum — Pair of Carved Whalebone Clubs | Tonga
© The British Museum

Detail of Inlaid Wood Club | Tonga © The British Museum — Detail of Inlaid Wood Club | Tonga
© The British Museum

Detail of Carved Wood Club | Tonga © The Brooklyn Museum — Detail of Carved Wood Club | Tonga
© The Brooklyn Museum

Detail of Carved Whalebone Club | Tonga © The British Museum — Detail of Carved Whalebone Club | Tonga
© The British Museum

Photograph | Portrait of a Tongan Chieftan © The British Museum — Photograph | Portrait of a Tongan Chieftan
© The British Museum

Photograph | Tongan Sailing Canoes © The British Museum — Photograph | Tongan Sailing Canoes
© The British Museum

Frans-Karel Weener

Frans-Karel Weener studied archaeology in Leiden (Cum Laude, 2007) but specialized during his education in ethnohistory. Today he is an archaeologist who, in search of primary source material, carries out excavation work in archives. For the last twelve years, he has examined the provenance and the historical background of ethnographic objects and collections.

Within this field of research, he is concentrating on Oceania, (West) Papua, Southeast Asia, Protestant and Catholic missionary collections, and on collections which were collected during scientific and military exploratory expeditions.

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Disclaimer: Art of the Ancestors is a strictly non-commercial educational platform and has no vested interest or business relationship with Karel Weener. We do not take any responsibility for the content they publish; their opinions are their own.

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