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African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: A Legacy of Collecting
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Canoe Prow Ornament (Nguzunguzu)
Solomon Islands, New Georgia, Roviana Lagoon, 19th century
Wood, paint, shell; H: 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm)
Provenance: Collected by Rodolphe Festetics de Tolna, Roviana, Solomon Islands, 1895; Charles Stéphen-Chauvet, Paris, before 1939; [A. Emert, Paris, 1939]; Joseph Mueller/Barbier Mueller collection, since 1939
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Vital to transportation, fishing, and warfare, canoes in the western Solomon Islands were formerly lavishly adorned. At the base of the canoe prow was a distinctive figurehead depicting a stylized human bust known in the Roviana Lagoon region, where this example was collected, as a nguzunguzu. Attached at the waterline so that it dipped into the water as the canoe rode the waves, the nguzunguzu served as a supernatural guardian, ensuring a safe passage and a successful expedition.
Nguzunguzu are shown with enlarged heads and large circular ear ornaments within their artificially elongated earlobes. Their faces are inlaid with intricate designs in mother-of-pearl, similar to the face paint patterns worn by men in the region. The jutting jaws were reportedly attributes of spirits, and the figureheads were variously said to portray, or afford protection from, dangerous sea spirits called kesoko. This nguzunguzu holds a human head, a reference to the headhunting raids in which large war canoes were formerly employed. See a Solomon Islands canoe prow ornament in the Met's collection.
See the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History to learn more about the Solomon Islands.
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