My French is quite rusty but the paddle on the left seems to have some measurements. I believe the "5 pi 2 po" corresponds to 5 pieds 2 pouce which roughly refer to feet and inches (this page on french measurement terms mentions the pieds is equivalent to 1.066 ft and the pouce equal to 1.066 inches)
The other paddle oddly features a caption that reads "pagaye de la Martinique" and looks quite exotic...nothing like the paddles used in the birchbark canoe trade. Maybe just a bit of artistic license to add some flair to artwork?
The shape reminded me of the ceremonial Dayak Borneo paddles posted on back in 2009 that also have and exotic blade design...
Did you ever try recreating the Dayak Borneo paddles? If so a link would be cool. It interests me. I’m not sure how I would add the artistic carvings? Any thoughts?
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