Images of gods and ancestors are prevalent in the sculpture of eastern and central Polynesia. Staff gods were first collected by the Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society in Rarotonga 1823, 1827-28. Few have survived due to the activities of Williams and fellow British missionaries who burned many of these objects in their zealous efforts to convert the people to Christianity. They produced engravings that showed scenes of the "idols" being surrenderd to them. Even fewer complete staff gods are known as many were cut in sections with the lower half declared obscene.
Various interpretations of staff gods exist. They are gender specific objects, defined by a phallus, and are thought to represent the hierarchical line of descent of male ancestors, similar in concept to genealogy staffs produced by the Maori. An alternative view is that they depict a famous historical figure named Tangiia and that the staff represents his deified ancestry. Materials sacred to the gods such as barkcloth, sennit and feathers are thought to have activated the object. (Kaeppler et.al and Phelps 1976)

Provenance:
Sotheby's New York, May 19, 2001, lot 65.

Christie's London. Melanesian and Polynesian Art from the James Hooper Collection, June 19, 1979: lot 153.

James T. Hooper collection, number 557 (H557 in white pigment on the reverse) acquired from the London Missionary Society 1949.

Totems Museum, Arundel-Sussex, England

Probably collected by the Reverend John Williams a member of the London Missionary Society in Rarotonga, 1823, 1827-28.

Publishing History:
J.T.Hooper and C.A.Burland. The Art of Primitive Peoples. London. The Fountain Press, 1953: 93, plate 15a.

Steven Phelps. Art and Artefacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas: The James Hooper Collection. London. Hutchinson, 1976: 134, plate 70 fig.557 and 422-423, no.557.

Charles W. Mack. Polynesian Art at Auction 1965-1980. Northboro, MA.: Mack-Nasser Publishing, 1982: 228-229, no.3.

Sotheby's New York. Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Sale 7659. May 19, 2001: 52, lot 65.

For a black and white photograph of this Staff God, see POL-4 Rarotonga A-19, The Photograph Study Collection, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York