Hab.t de l'Isle de Paques, from the playing cards (for quartets) "Costumes des Peuples Étrangers" 18th century

This anonymous, undated playing card from "Costumes des Peuples Étrangers" depicts a native of Easter Island holding a club. The club is a dominant visual symbol, an immediate assertion of power and defense. This motif is deeply resonant, echoing clubs wielded by Hercules, the classical hero whose strength and struggles were immortalized in art across millennia. The club, in its crude form, evokes primal human instincts—survival, dominance, and confrontation. This is not merely a practical tool; it is a scepter of authority. The image prompts a psychoanalytic interpretation: the club becomes a phallic symbol, representing not only physical power, but also a latent assertion of cultural dominance by the colonizer. The card reflects the complex psychology of cultural encounter, layered with fear, fascination, and a subconscious desire for control. The symbol transcends the immediate depiction, becoming a vessel for historical and psychological undercurrents. It reappears across time, each instance reshaping its significance while retaining echoes of its primal origins.