Provenance : Jean-Yves Coué Collection, Nantes

This club is remarkable for its size, its massive weight and the exceptional breadth of its blade. It is engraved on each face with a hatched pattern separated by vertical lines interrupted by a horizontal half-band at the spur. The smooth handle has a small bounce at the end.

Commonly called a gunstock club by Westerners because of its supposed resemblance to a rifle, this form of club was used long before firearms were introduced to the islands in the early 19th century.

According to Clunie, “the name of these magnificent clubs comes from the sali flower of a wild banana-like plant(musa species) that grows in the Fijian bush. This club’s blade-like cheeks were designed to cut flesh and bone rather than break it. In recent years, it has been claimed that the spur was used like the totokia club to pierce the enemy’s skull. “He adds, “Widely used for dancing, like other spur clubs, the cali was often held at spur level by dancers.”

However, the enormous weight of our club suggests that it was used more for warfare than for dancing.

According to Steven Hooper2, the large Sali of this type were sculpted for a common presentation of usually 10 pieces.

They date back to the early 19th century. The large size is explained by the production

a special order to coincide with the introduction of the metal. Steven Hooper cites two other models in the Berlin museum and another at the MET, whose decoration is more elaborate. At least three of these are known to be in private collections (including one sold in 2002 at Sotheby’s New York3). Although the number of pieces listed is six, it seems that ten was the prescribed number for this type of ceremony.

This exceptional cali is the work of a master craftsman, who has perfectly mastered form and volume in the flowing lines and convex and concave surfaces that characterize it.
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1- Clunie. 1977, p.107
2- Personal communication September 2023
3- Reference : Sotheby’s New-York. Nov.15 2002 lot 187. Sold for $57,000).