Marquesan tiki, signed Marcel Taupotini

A tiki from the Marquesas — not a souvenir-stall piece but a signed work from its place of origin. Stamped into the soles of both feet: MARCEL TAUPOTINI and TAIOHAE, the main settlement of Nuku Hiva island.

Everything here follows the Marquesan canon: the oversized eyes — «mata» in the island language — with arching brows above, the wide horizontal mouth, the squat stance with hands on the belly. A crisply cut diamond ornament with rolled spirals sits on the back, banding runs around the calves. Polished tropical hardwood of the kind used for carving on Nuku Hiva.

In Taiohae, Taupotini is a carving name that runs through generations — the craft is handed down in the workshop, from father to son. Damas Taupotini, born 1968 in the same place, learned carving from his father, a respected sculptor of the island; he still works in wood, bone, mother-of-pearl and stone today.

• Signed and located — very few Marquesan carvings carry a name and a place. Here both are stamped into the sole.
• From the region of origin, not from an Asian copy workshop. The wood is tropical hardwood from the island.
• Workshop quality: fully finished reverse, even polish right into the undercuts, precisely cut ornament — the hand of a trained carver, not series work for the cruise pier.

Very good. Even polish, no cracks, no losses. The signature is crisp and fully legible.