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Flywhisk Handle

A carved ivory handle with a rounded, detailed top, which tapers downward to a narrow end. At the narrow end, there is a small wooden piece with four spikes, tied to an ovular shape bound entirely in braided sennit, which is tied to the ivory segment above it.

A carved ivory handle with a rounded, detailed top, which tapers downward to a narrow end. At the narrow end, there is a small wooden piece with four spikes, tied to an ovular shape bound entirely in braided sennit, which is tied to the ivory segment above it.

Culture Maohi
Culture Tahitian
Culture Society Islands
Culture Austral Islands
Title Flywhisk Handle
Date Before 1818
Medium Whale ivory, wood, and and sennit
Dimensions Object: 12 5/16 × 2 1/4 × 2 1/16 in. (31.3 × 5.7 × 5.2 cm)
Overall (includes mount): 13 1/16 × 2 1/4 × 2 1/16 in. (33.2 × 5.7 × 5.2 cm)
Credit Line Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 2010.22

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About this Work

The intricate, delicate carving and the tawny, silky appearance of the ivory make this a sensuous, if somewhat enigmatic, object. One of only five known similar ivory handles, this one and another now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art were sent in 1818 from the Tahitian king Pomare II (1774–1821) to an English missionary, Reverend Thomas Haweis (1734–1820).

James Wilson, one of the earliest Europeans to visit the Society Islands, noted that fly whisks were a common accoutrement of the islanders and a fan or fly whisk (Tahitians used the same word for both objects) was among the insignia of a chief.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Flywhisk Handle | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2010.22