The carved and stained 11 ½in (29cm) fork, sold with a 13in (33cm) ladle, have been purchased by a London dealer.
The items had been in the collection of Captain John Proctor Luce (1827-69) who was Captain of HMS Esk which had sailed to Fiji. The artefacts came down by descent, Luce was the vendors’ great, great grandfather.
The London dealer bought the fork and ladle via a telephone bid at Duke’s Paintings, Furniture and Works of Art two day sale for a hammer price of £7500. The lot had an estimate of £800-1600.
The items had been kept in a cardboard box which carried the inscription 'Cannibal fork, has been used, brought home from Fiji, 1857 by Capt J.P.Luce H.M.S. Esk’.
Captain Luce took command of HMS Esk following the death of Captain Hamilton at the battle of Gate Pā in the Maori Wars. The Esk left Auckland in July 1867 and Captain Luce was paid off in October of that year, dying soon after.
A number of Captain Luce's journals are held at the Royal Anthropological Institute. However, it is not clear when the Fijian items that sold at Duke’s were collected as some of his diaries were destroyed.
Many artefacts collected by him were donated to the British Museum by relation Margaret Luce.
Cannibal cutlery is rare, and items with a first-hand account of use are rarer still.
The ladle shows clear signs of damage to the rim almost certainly as a result of use, however, there is no proof the fork has been used.
