Sawfish rostrum club/sword
bone, fabric
late 19th / early 20th century
28” tall (rostrum and handle) / 30” tall on mount
ex private collection, CA
ex Jeffrey Cho collection, Kailua-Kona, HI
A sawfish rostrum where part of the rostrum has been crafted into a handle and covered with fabric for the appearance of a toothy sword. The native Hawaiians used similar types of objects called leiomano which were shark-toothed clubs which resembled a ping-pong paddle inset with shark teeth. Various Polynesian cultures also crafted similar objects out of wood called kiribati where the shark teeth on those objects were placed into grooves and sewn into place.
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