Papua New GuineaDisc-headed club from Papua New Guinea, Oceania. Collected by Kenneth W. T. Bridge in 1936 or 1937. Given to the Museum by Beatrice Blackwood in 1938.

This short club has a discoidal, flower-like carved stone head and a tapering wooden handle, sections of which are covered in woven cane. Only a few groups in Papua New Guinea used stone weapons, the most notorious of which were the Angu or Kukukuku. This group lived in the central-eastern mountainous regions where stone was quarried and traded down to the lowland river, swamp and coastal areas of the island where stone was rare. Imported steel blades began to replace stone heads from the late 19th century although the latter are still used for ceremonial and parade purposes.

Although physically small (often under five feet tall), the Kukukuku were known for their fierce nature and violent raids on neighbouring villages, described by one Western observer as 'the little killers in bark cloaks'. Kukukuku men were experts in the manufacture of ball, disc, star and pineapple shaped club heads. The clubs were tucked into the back of their belts, hidden by the bark cloaks, ready to be pulled out quickly in an ambush.