A Finely Carved Old Solomon Islands Staff  from the Star Harbour Area San Cristobal 

A Finely Carved Old Solomon Islands Staff  from the Star Harbour Area on Makira Island or St Cristobal 

This finely carved & shell inlay Staff was carved by a master carver during the 1940s and it was likely a gift from a local man to an American or Australian soldier stationed there during WW2.  The imagery consists of an ancestor figure who is being bitten by a crocodile, this is a consistent motif in Solomon Islands art and relates to a mythological story, the other images are totemic animals & sea creatures.

The Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific form a double chain, roughly 850 miles long, between New Britain and Vanuatu. The archipelago is remarkable for the richness of its decorative arts, which serve to adorn the human body and embellish ceremonial and utilitarian objects. Solomon Islanders are particularly remarkable for their sophisticated traditions of shell inlay, in which delicately carved sections of mother-of-pearl or white shell are inset into the surfaces of wood objects as shown in this very fine sculpture.

The photos of the Staff do not do the artwork justice, it is often the case where the artwork held in one’s hand gives the full experience of how beautiful the staff truly is.

It has a custom stand

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Solomon Island and Oceanic Art