here is a newish carving of a ‘cannibal’ fork. These forks were originally used to feed tribal chiefs and holy men who were not allowed to touch food.

Cutlery was not used in ancient Fiji but these forks would be used in ceremonial feasts. An attendant would feed important members of the tribe for whom touching food was Tapu.

Although cannibalism was part of Fijian culture for centuries, it is not clear that these forks were reserved only for human flesh, as all food was subject to spiritual restrictions.

Modern anthropologists consider the reputation  of these forks to be exaggerated, initially by missionaries eager to justify their work with tales of ‘savage’ natives in need of Christian guidance and later by the Fijian artists who quickly realised that they could sell more forks to tourists and collectors if they gave their work a macabre back story.

Artist Alana Jelinek investigates the myths in her Tall Stories: Cannibal Forks art project although you can see from this cannibal fork auction that these artefacts have lost none of their exotic appeal…

Read more about making a cannibal fork at the Aretactual Blog

here’s a new carving, based on a Papua New Guinea ancestor figure. Crocodiles feature heavily in New Guinea art and are considered to be important spirit figures. Some tribes even celebrate a crocodile as the creator of their world.

I made this from a table leg I found outside, it’s Beech I think, about 28cm tall.

I’m not a prolific collector of Tiki mugs but when I saw this one I had to have it!

This mug was designed by Tank Standing Buffalo , mainly known for his Kustom Kulture and lowbrow artwork.

The base features figures representing four ‘forefathers’ of Tiki, Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic, Thor Heyerdahl and Edgar Leeteg.

The drum design and figures are inspired by Leeteg’s ‘Tahitian Drummer‘  painting, with the figures featuring the logos and imagery associated with their respective forefathers.