Sternum drill, Vanuatu (New Hebrides), Melanesia - Lot 106

Lot n° 106
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Estimation :
800 - 1000 EUR
Sternum drill, Vanuatu (New Hebrides), Melanesia - Lot 106
Sternum drill, Vanuatu (New Hebrides), Melanesia Wood with beautiful light brown patina Length: 115.7 cm Missing and blunt tip With double engraved domes and traces of pigment. The single handle is finished by a guard decorated with a rope of fibres and hair. Provenance: Jean André Henry Edgar Birolleau (1859 1916), principal physician of the Colonies Rochefort sur Mer health corps, present in New Caledonia from 1887 to 1898. Principal physician of the Colonies' medical corps, Jean André Henry Edgar BIROLLEAU (1859 1916) took part in many campaigns, including Marenge from November 1882 to August 1883, then in Senegal on the Salamendre from April 1883 to January 1886. Three expeditions to New Caledonia followed from 1887 to 1898, i.e. eleven years. The year 1898 marked the end of transportation to New Caledonia while the Guyana prison continued to operate. A military doctor seconded as a ship's doctor, he treated the officers, non-commissioned officers, boatmen and mechanics for illnesses contracted during the voyage, including tuberculosis. When he arrived at his destination, he took as much care of his co-religionists as he did of the indigenous canaques and fought against the scourge of the moment, leprosy. He undoubtedly received this monstrous axe and the few spears we present as a gift of gratitude. The return journey passed through the New Hebrides where the ship loaded goods including sandalwood. From this anchorage, he received or bought puzzles, an axe and a sternum drill, which are presented today at the auction. Afterwards, he continued his career as a senior doctor in French Guyana and ended it in Madagascar in 1903. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1901 and an officer in 1913. We will give the buyers of these objects the few archives in our possession collected from the family.
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