Shark Reliquary

This is an extremely rare Solomon Islands shark reliquary carved from a single piece of wood with a hollowed cavity at its center which was intended as a reliquary to safeguard the skull of a deceased chief and recent ancestor. These impressive reliquaries were placed high up in the rafters of the boathouse where the canoes were kept and where men gathered to discuss important community business. Reliquaries such as these are primarily associated with sharks but also incorporate features of the bonito fish (Sarda chilensis) of the tuna family. The body of this shark-fish hybrid is long and slender, tapering at the head into a long snout with an open mouth. Small fragments of shell inlay in the mouth have now broken off but would have represented teeth. The front pair of fins have broken off and one of the two dorsal fins is also damaged. A series of twelve smaller triangular pinnules run along the length of the back and six underneath the body. These feature inlay of triangular sections of an opaque nacreous shell. Further crescent-shaped cross-sections of a conus shell decorate the body and line the border of the bifurcated caudal fin (or tail), highlighting its bold curvature. A band of zig-zag decoration, painted in white onto the dark wood, wraps around the body near the tail creating a striking design in contrasting color.

In the eastern Solomon Islands, the shark occupies a privileged position. Held in high esteem and revered as both guardian and predator, sharks are closely associated with the spirit world and, more particularly, with the transition of man from the world of the living to the world of the departed which is inhabited by ancestors. This allusion to the shark is partly based on an important myth which recounts the story of Karemanua, a man who metamorphosed into a shark. Karemanua is said to have bitten the body of his brother, Kakafu, for having witnessed his transformation into a powerful god and his subsequent passage from the living world to the realm of spirits and ancestors which was tapu (sacred or taboo, forbidden). The shape and form of this reliquary represents this mythical shark who safeguards this important relic from the recently deceased chief, a high-ranking individual who, on reaching the final grade of his own funerary cycle, is believed to incarnate into a shark.

This is a remarkable work of art gifted in honor of Thomas Campbell, former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to mark his tenure as leader of the institution. In Pacific terms the association of a leader with a shark in acknowledgement of their chiefly prowess is not uncommon and is high compliment indeed.