Spear-thrower, of plant fibre, from New Caledonia; part of the Forster collection (Forster 160; 1886.1.1678)

Spear thrower consisting of a semi-circular length of plaited and woven plant fibres decorated with what appears to be bat hair. The thrower has a loop of plaited coarse grass-like fibres at one end, which is bound with wrapped coiling around a cord of a finer plant fibre. This area of coiling is decorated with four tassels using the same wrapped coiling process. The binding and tassels appear to have been decorated with bat hair. The body of the spear thrower is an eight-stranded square plait of the same coarse fibre used in the loop section. This plait appears to have been knotted at the very end of the plait and then covered with a looped cover in an hourglass pattern (?) using a cord similar in fibre and thickness to the one used to bind the loop at the top of the object. This cover leaves the very top of the plaited knot exposed

• Museum database entry.