Knife

Description

Knife (niho 'oki) consisting of a short wooden handle, waisted midway and flaring to the base which is cut flat, with two large shark teeth set in a groove in its upper edge and kept in position by lashings through a central hole in the head, probably collected by Captain Cook on his last voyage, 1776-1779: Polynesian, Hawaiian Islands

Museum reference

A.1956.1019

Collection

Oceania

Object name

Knife, Niho 'oki

Production information

Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia

Style / Culture

Hawaiian

Materials

Wood, Shark tooth

Physical description

Wooden handle set with two large shark teeth

Associations

Collector: Cook, James, Captain, 1728 - 1779

Exhibitions

• Facing the Sea (29 Jul 2011)
  National Museum of Scotland

• James Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific (20 Aug 2009 - 13 Feb 2011)
  Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany
  Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
  Historisches Museum Bern

References

Arbeit, W (2011) 'Links to the Past: The Work of Early Hawaiian Artisans', University of Hawaii Press, p216

On display

national museum of scotland »
level 3 »
world cultures, facing the sea »
pw.3