Bonito Lure
Production date
2018-2019
Country
French Polynesia
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Object detail
Description
Bonito lure made from black lip pearl oyster shell. Metal hook attached at one end, synthetic fibre joined at the other.
Classification
INDIGENOUS CULTURES Polynesian lure
Maker
Production date
2018-2019
Production place
Measurements
L 140 x W 13 x D 35 mm (Lure only)
History and use
Created by Tahitian artist Hiro Ou Wen, this lure draws comparisons to the 18th century bonito lures found during excavations of HMS Pandora. The item is representative of the types of Tahitian material culture that were avidly collected during the European age of exploration in Polynesia.
Bonito lures are still used in French Polynesia to catch bonito fish. When suspended in water, the lures resemble small fish moving in the water, and attract the predatory bonito. The primary difference is that today’s lures feature metal hooks and synthetic fibres, whereas the lures from the 1700s used natural fibres and shell or bone hooks.
This collection of objects was curated as part of Jasmin Guenther’s PhD thesis (James Cook University) and exhibited in Making Connections: French Polynesia and the HMS Pandora Collection at the Museum of Tropical Queensland (2019).
Read more: https://blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2019/09/10/re-imagining-pandora/
Bonito lures are still used in French Polynesia to catch bonito fish. When suspended in water, the lures resemble small fish moving in the water, and attract the predatory bonito. The primary difference is that today’s lures feature metal hooks and synthetic fibres, whereas the lures from the 1700s used natural fibres and shell or bone hooks.
This collection of objects was curated as part of Jasmin Guenther’s PhD thesis (James Cook University) and exhibited in Making Connections: French Polynesia and the HMS Pandora Collection at the Museum of Tropical Queensland (2019).
Read more: https://blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2019/09/10/re-imagining-pandora/
Associated person
Registration number
E40893
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