Overview
This large carved jovo (door post) was part of the doorway of a great round house made by the Kanak people of New Caledonia. These doorways, with their lintel, sill, and side carvings, were one of the main forms of architectural sculpture for the Kanaks. The large carved boards that flanked the door were among the most striking works of Kanak art.
The jovo are usually called chambranles (door jambs) in French, but they do not support the frame as a door jamb does. Instead, they stand in front of the doorway and keep the horizontal rods, which support the wall material, in place against the actual doorposts. Each meeting house has two jovo, one on each side of the door. They are seldom, if ever, an exact pair.
The carvings usually consist of an upper face with a geometric design beneath. But there are stylistic variations and several regional styles in the jovo of New Caledonia, and in the southern region there is sometimes more than one face.
Great round houses were and are one of the most powerful symbols of New Caledonian Kanak society. As well as being meeting houses, they reflect the social organisation of a clan and its relationship with its chief. It is not surprising that they have provided a major vehicle for Kanak woodcarving.
This door post is part of the Oldman collection of artefacts.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database (2007)