Producer unknown to us
Hand club (wahaika)
Oceania, Aotearoa New Zealand
Prior to 1869
Wood, mother-of-pearl, carved
Alfred Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Duke of Edinburgh, 1893–1900) collected the piece between April 11th and June 1st 1869 in Aotearoa New Zealand
Transferred to the museum from the collection of the local museum Veste Wachsenburg in 1966
Po 1907
This sort of club was a symbol of status for high-ranking Maori and less of an actual weapon. Representatives of the Maori community presented this hand club (Wahaika) to the Duke of Edinburgh, Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, during his “Royal Tour” to the British colonies. The tour consisted of two voyages between 1867 and 1871, which he undertook as Admiral of the Royal Navy. These voyages were to maintain the power of the Empire.
During the travels, Prince Alfred established himself as an internationally active collector. His ethnographic collection was brought to the Wachsenburg castle, where it was on display since the end of the 19th century. Due to the strengthening of specific museum profiles in the GDR this collection was transferred to the Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig in 1966.
Juliane Heinze