Bonito Canoe model
Artist unknown, Pacific Islander
Artist Unidentified, Pacific Islander
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlaceSolomon Islands
Medium/TechniqueWood, parinarium nut resin, varnish, nautilus shell, juste fabric [repair]
DimensionsOverall: 33.5 x 139 x 13.5 cm (13 3/16 x 54 3/4 x 5 5/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2764
On View
Not on viewClassificationsModels
Collections
Solomon Islanders have long traded model canoes with other islanders. In the mid-nineteenth century, they began to make them for sale. This is one of many instances where production for the Western market began with the earliest contact. The model is a faithful replica of the sacred bonito canoe. Its iconography alludes to the cult of the bonito fish, and features the frigate bird, the fish itself, the blueback sprat (another fish), and a dog. The stylized frigate bird at the prow represents the bird's key role for the fishermen, who locate schools of bonito by watching birds that follow the fish.
Inscriptionsred plastic label on side: "34"Provenance1948, sold by Galerie Carrefour, Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
Artist Unidentified, Pacific Islander
mid to late 20th century
