ART ON VIEW representative of the most powerful chief on earth, Queen Victoria (fi g. 7). Gordon later gave it along with many other things to what is now the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, his old university. This shows how a breastplate was more than just an “ornament” or item of chiefl y regalia; it was also a powerful diplomatic gift, and we have records of other breastplates being distributed by chiefs to actual or would-be allies to guarantee allegiance, secure alliances, or obtain other services. They played much the same role as the more familiar tabua, the presentation whale tooth on a coir cord that is still widely used in Fiji at weddings, funerals, and on other occasions of great importance when the seriousness of the donor is demonstrated in the most profound way possible (fi g. 9). 111122 Who made these splendid breastplates, for some of which it is possible to detect particular skilled hands (fi gs. 6 and 8)? They have sometimes been called Tongan, but this is only partially true and highlights the diffi culties in labeling things “Fijian” or “Tongan.” In fact, they could also be called “Samoan,” not because they were made in Samoa, but because some of the specialist carpenters who made them in Fiji had Samoan ancestry. They had moved to eastern Fiji, via Tonga, in the eighteenth century to build canoes for Fijian and Tongan chiefs from the highquality tropical hardwoods that can be found there. This is part of the pattern of migration and absorption referred to above, where Fijians domesticated outsiders and external infl uences to turn them to their own advantage. Other carpenters from Tonga moved to eastern Fiji at the beginning of the nineteenth century, also to build canoes and perform other services for Fijian chiefs, which included handling the dead bodies of sacred Fijian chiefs during burial rites, a task dangerous for locals but not for “foreigners.” These carving specialists and the communities into which they married in Fiji created fi ne artworks from highly valued materials that were then used by chiefs to display their power FIG. 14 (left): Large water pot, saqa. Fiji. 1870s. Terracotta. H: 51 cm. Collected by Baron Anatole von Hügel, 1875–1877. Cambridge, MAA, inv. Z 3546. FIG. 15 (left): Basket in rectangular form, rubu. Fiji. 1870s. Fiber. H: 51 cm. Collected by Sir Arthur Gordon, 1875–1880. Cambridge, MAA, inv. 1918.213.31 S. FIG. 16 (right): Club, sali/cali, of an extremely elegant form. Fiji. Early–mid 19th century. Wood. L: 105 cm. Collected by Julius Brenchley, HMS Curaçoa, 1865. Maidstone, MNENG, inv. 2015.21.
T81E
To see the actual publication please follow the link above