Carving: Headhunters with Head
date: label: Accession Date
content: 19 Jan 2005
label: Collection Date
content: 1956
name: label: Collector
content: Shigeru Kaneshiro
label: Donor Name
content: Shigeru Kaneshiro
notes: label: Notes
content: Two headhunters with weapons. One figure is standing behind the other, carrying a pole between them. Suspended from the pole is a severed head. Eyes of figures are inlaid shell, axe head is also shell. Men are wearing simple rope loincloths, and their bodies are incised with horizontal lines. Base carved with grid and geometric pattern. Unpainted, except for patches of red "blood" on the head and spear.
label: Notes
content: Donor says he purchased this new at the Koror Fair in 1956. According to Curator of Oceania Ethnology Adrienne L. Kaeppler, this sculpture is an excellent example of cultural identity in the 1950s. The Micronesians of Palau practiced the tradition of headhunting in the 18th century. This sculpture indicates that this heritage, while no longer practiced, was still part of the cultural identity.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 2 Dec 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Koror, Palau, Micronesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Palauan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2034606
label: USNM Number
content: E431549-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Sculpture
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 64 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 19 cm
label: Height - Object
content: 52 cm