Throwing Club

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Culture Fijian

Title Throwing Club (I Ula Tavatava)

Date 19th century

Medium Wood

Dimensions Object: 16 1/4 × 3 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. (41.3 × 9.8 × 9.8 cm)
Overall: 16 1/4 × 3 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. (41.3 × 9.8 × 9.8 cm)

Credit Line Gift of Ruth and Ernst Anspach, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 71.83.1

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About this Work

Clubs, carved in several forms, traditionally were among the most important weapons on Fiji, and many were carved during the nineteenth century when civil unrest and warfare were rampant. Among them, the throwing club was considered the most personal, and a man traditionally always carried one or two at his waist. Though usually thrown, such clubs also may have been used to beat an opponent in close quarters. Men frequently made their own clubs, but beautifully carved and elaborated ones such as this were surely created by professional craftsmen.

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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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"Throwing Club | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=71.83.1