Fighting Spear, Hawaiian Islands

A historic Hawaiian fighting spear, likely crafted between the 18th and early 19th centuries, representing the traditional weapons-making craft of Native Hawaiian artisans. These spears, known as ihe or pololu, were functional weapons and ceremonial objects embodying the skilled craftsmanship of Hawaiian culture before and during early Western contact. Such objects appear in auction house sales as significant ethnographic artifacts reflecting indigenous Pacific Islander material culture and warrior traditions.