Canoe-Prow Splashboard (Rajim)

Dateearly 20th Century

Maker Massim Island Region , Trobriand Islands

Label TextNow weathered, this splashboard originally served as a spiritual guide for a canoe filled with men. Curving birds and waves etched into the surface surround a small human crouched at the top. The holes on the rim would have been dressed with tassels, streamers, shells, and feathers. One observer said the Trobriand Islanders relied on a “technology of enchantment” to dazzle all who saw the canoe, protecting them from enemies in the water and stirring up respect from their rivals.

Object number70.120

ProvenanceH.M. Lissauer, Melbourne, Australia; sold to Richard Fuller (1897-1976), Seattle, Washington, 1970; gifted to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1970

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022.

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions20 3/8 x 26 1/4 x 2 in. (51.7 x 66.7 x 5.1 cm) Overall h.: 21 3/4 in.

MediumWood with pigment