Fan (pe’ahi niu)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This elegant fan incorporates a series of vibrant red-and-black design elements made from intricately woven cords of coconut fiber and human hair. The great skill and effort invested by Hawai’ian artists in artifacts made for the chiefly class (ali’i) heightened these objects’ ritual efficacy and pushed artistic ingenuity to its limits.
Artwork Details
- Title: Fan (pe’ahi niu)
- Date: Early 19th century
- Geography: United States, Hawai'ian Islands
- Medium: Human hair, coconut midribs and leaflets, dyed fiber
- Dimensions: H. 9 5/8 × W. 23 × D. 1 1/4 in. (24.4 × 58.4 × 3.2 cm)
- Classification: (not assigned)
- Credit Line: Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, Gift of Captain Nathaniel Page, 1817
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing