oceania | New Caledonia
Kanak Roof Finial
New Caledonia
Roof Finial
Kanak
New Caledonia
19th century
Carved wood
Height:
Provenance
Collection of the antiquarian Marc Perpitch, Paris
Collection Stephane Mangin, Paris
Collection Olivier Vanuxem, France
Publication & Exhibition
“L’Art ancestral des kanak”, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Chartres, 2009, p. 59
Kanak Roof Finial / Galerie Flak
Price on request
An emblematic element of traditional New Caledonian architecture, the roof finial (gamboon in the Xârâcùù language) crowns the conical roof of the Great House (Grande Case), the chief's residence. Far more than a mere ornament, it embodies the spirit of the ancestors and symbolizes the presence, power, and authority of the clan.
Traditionally carved from rot-resistant wood (often guaiac or houp wood), it generally consists of three sections: a base anchored into the roof, a central body depicting a stylized ancestral face with powerful features, and an upper spire.
Upon the death of a chief, the roof finial was ritually pulled down or broken, signifying the death of the current social structure, before being raised again for his successor.
Traditionally carved from rot-resistant wood (often guaiac or houp wood), it generally consists of three sections: a base anchored into the roof, a central body depicting a stylized ancestral face with powerful features, and an upper spire.
Upon the death of a chief, the roof finial was ritually pulled down or broken, signifying the death of the current social structure, before being raised again for his successor.
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