Fijian Kinikini - Broad Sword of the Pacific
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A fine Fijian Kinikini of chiefly proportions. Known as the broadsword of the pacific. The kinikini was the most challenging of all Fijian clubs to carve. With its wide blade (often the width of the hardwood tree from which it was made), raised and incised decoration and long slender handle, there was no room for error. Favored amongst warriors and chiefs, able fighting men would rarely be found without one in times of war and peace. This traditional example has been produced with a fine raised and incised decoration to the blade where it transitions from the long slender handle and a row of incisions along the mid section of the blade. It retains its original sennit (coconut fibre) binding to the handle and is inlayed with marine ivory. On custom presentation stand. Length 93 cm, width 23 cm. Private collection - the Netherlands
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- Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.
Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.
In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.
In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.
The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.
Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory - 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.
- Broadsword - A broadsword is a type of medieval European sword with a wide blade and a cruciform hilt with a grip for two-handed use. These swords were typically used by infantry in battle and were designed for cutting and hacking as well as thrusting. They were popular during the late medieval and early modern period and were used by both cavalry and infantry soldiers. The term "broadsword" is also used to refer to any sword with a wide blade, regardless of the specific time period or culture in which it was used.
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