Fijian Masi Beater with Incised Lines
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A Masi beater, Fiji Islands, Quadrangular hardwood beater with tapering handle, three of the beating sides with incised lines, the fourth side uncarved. Fine dark-brown patina with wear indicative of significant use and age. The masi, also called tapa in other regions of Oceania, was made from pieces of inner bark that were soaked, dried and beaten to create a fine and flexible cloth. Women would beat the bark while singing ancestral stories which would load the cloth with ancestral power and prestige, called mana, length 40 cm
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- Incised - A record of a name, date or inscription, or a decoration scratched into a surface, usually of a glass or ceramic item with a blunt instrument to make a coarse indentation. Compare with engraving where the surface is cut with a sharp instrument such as a metal needle or rotating tool to achieve a fine indentation.
- Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.
As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.
Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation.
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