A09 Aboriginal Hardwood Club from Western Australia Ruhe Collection

  
Aboriginal Hardwood Club from Western Australia. This item is an old hardwood club from Western Australia. It was probably made in the early 20 th Century. Ben Ruhe collected this club for his personal collection in the mid 1950s, so it is at least that old. Ben said that it had some age when he acquired it. The wood might be Jarrah which does not darken with age as much as Mulga which is found in Eastern Australia.

This club has a smooth surface finish. Many of these clubs were finished by wetting the surface and then scraping the soft wood away from the dry hardwood underneath. This club also has several circumferential grooves and a few bands of painted ochre. One end is bulbous and the other end has a pierced hole. This club is in near mint condition.

There are very few marks from impact and no cracks. It is one of the best Aboriginal clubs I have seen.

Length = 69 cm ; Weight = 265 gm. I often list similar items in other categories. Most of my listings include collectibles from the Panama Canal Zone, artifacts, books, stamps and coins. This includes boomerangs, license plates, molas, celts, slings and Aboriginal items. If an item does not sell, I often relist it within a month at a lower price.