A New Idea re Weapons of Oceania and a Poll

[Ian]

Bob and Jim, thank you for your encouragement. As you both note, there is very little readily available information on these weapons.

Regards, Ian.

[A. G. Maisey]

Ian, as with Jim & Bob, I am of he opinion that this would be a very worthwhile undertaking, however it is an area that is not of any interest to me at the present time --- I still have an immense amount that I need to address in my chosen field, & I simply to do not have sufficient time to diversify into a different area of study.

However, I do wish you every success in getting this initiative off the ground, the door to this field of knowledge is closing fast, anything that you might be able to do preserve some understanding before it all goes, probably forever, would be a very worthy endeavour.

[kronckew]

Their is a fair amount of info from VANDOO in his series of 'Most Desired' Oceanic weapons.

[Ian]

Thanks Wayne. Yes, VANDOO posted a number of items some time ago and I plan to include his threads in the information that I assemble. I plan also to acknowledge his pioneering efforts here in this area of ethnographic weapons.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Ian, as with Jim & Bob, I am of he opinion that this would be a very worthwhile undertaking, however it is an area that is not of any interest to me at the present time --- I still have an immense amount that I need to address in my chosen field, & I simply to do not have sufficient time to diversify into a different area of study.

However, I do wish you every success in getting this initiative off the ground, the door to this field of knowledge is closing fast, anything that you might be able to do preserve some understanding before it all goes, probably forever, would be a very worthy endeavour.

Thank you, Alan. I agree that the knowledge and skills in producing and using these old weapons is disappearing. There are, however, a significant number of items in the hands of collectors and museums. There has been a trend, promoted by some prominent dealers and financial managers, to invest in ethnographic items of indigenous peoples of the Pacific. These "financial assets" are then traded among the wealthy, including some serious collectors. As a result, they appear at auction every so often. Their provenance can be traced from auction to auction, sometimes being sold multiple times by the same auction house. This practice has clearly been happening for decades. I am speaking of conditions in Australia, of course, and I cannot speak for the wider market.

Recycling of pieces through private sales and auctions is one way of preserving them. Those weapons that come up for auction offer an opportunity to record them and create an archive here. Some of these go back to first contact between indigenous peoples and Europeans, and some even predate first contact. Most "early" examples, however, are from the 19th C. In Australia, an 18th C Aboriginal item is considered very old.

Alan, Oceanic weapons are not my primary area of interest also. However, I think this Forum should do what it can to record these diverse weapons before, as you note, many of them disappear forever.

Regards, Ian.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Ian, as with Jim & Bob, I am of he opinion that this would be a very worthwhile undertaking, however it is an area that is not of any interest to me at the present time --- I still have an immense amount that I need to address in my chosen field, & I simply to do not have sufficient time to diversify into a different area of study.

However, I do wish you every success in getting this initiative off the ground, the door to this field of knowledge is closing fast, anything that you might be able to do preserve some understanding before it all goes, probably forever, would be a very worthy endeavour.

Hi Ian. I have quoted Alan'a post above because it is basically my own postion. Best of luck with this project!

[Jim McDougall]

I can never forget Barry (Vandoo) and Jimmy Manteris! Those guys were an exciting core of interest in Oceania! and while as been noted, I have not typically been interested in this field, but when items are presented and with some sort of context and informational dynamics, one cannot help but be intrigued.

That is why a venue as Ian has suggested would be worthwhile, and promote interest and from my perspective, perhaps historical material that would be interesting.

What Alan and David have noted regarding the financial and investment properties of items in these esoteric fields is indeed a factor which has become altogether too prevalent in ethnographic arms in general, not just these.
That is the reason a number of collectors recently have effectively 'jumped ship' in acquiring these arms, many moving into other fields such as regulation military etc.

In these circumstances the best thing for collectors is knowledge, and in fields with so little informational material, a venue like this would not only be helpful, but essential.

Again, thinking of Vandoo and Jimmy....miss those guys!!!!