Hook for trolling lure called Ipa or Aipa
Tuamotu Islands or Society Islands, French Polynesia
19th century
Mother-of-pearl, copper, horsehair and cotton
Height: 12 cm; Width: 1.5 cm

Hook featuring a stylized fish whose body, sculpted from a section of mother-of-pearl with pinkish reflections, refers to the shank of the hook and the scales, and whose tail is manifested by two tufts of brown horsehair.
The copper barb is an old boat nail reused and fixed to the shaft with cotton thread.

Bibliography:
A similar example is kept at the Linden Museum in Stuttgart under inventory number 005619.

Ref.: 6972

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON