Samoan Club and Spear from George Cann Collection

An early Samoan club and spear, late 19th - early 20th century;…
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An early Samoan club and spear, late 19th - early 20th century; both finely carved from hard wood, the club with incised lime filled designs. Provenance: George Cann collection (1890s-1965); Cann was known as the snake man of La Perouse, entertaining crowds when he worked at La Perouse from 1920 until the 1960s. He was a legendary collector of snakes from areas around Australia and the Pacific Islands, in his yard, he created large pits that were used to house his snake collection. He was the curator of reptiles at the Taronga Park Zoo for 20 years, and died of a stroke in 1965. 94 cm, 105 cm (2)

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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.

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