A Tuvaluan (Ellice Islands) fish hook With a hand wove fibre...

Estimate

£100 - £200

A Tuvaluan (Ellice Islands) fish hook With a hand wove fibre binding, 32cm high, early to mid 20th century. This type of hook was made to catch Ruvettus fish (oilfish) and only the Tautai (master fisherman) were permitted to make them. "They carve both the shank and the point out of Pemphis acidula wood (which is denser and therefore heavier than water), and tie the two pieces together with a kafa binding." ( Blau & Maaz. Fish Hooks of the Pacific Islands, 2012, pl.76 for similar.) From the library of Guy Slatter, whose lifelong passion for island life began in childhood with an interest in Pitcairn. After studying at Oxford and working for the BBC, he spent two years in the 1960s setting up a radio station in the Kiribati Islands. His deep connection to the Pacific led to many return visits, including work for a German museum, where he facilitated the export of an ethnic house for an exhibition. A dedicated scholar of Pacific history and culture, he built his collection of books over many years through a dealer in York and even translated two German works into English: The Material Culture of Kiribati and The Material Culture of Tuvalu.