Collection Search

Complete kahawai lure. Curved wooden shank with knob at base for lashings. Iridescent paua shell inlay. Muka lashings at head and base. Twisted muka cord attached at head. Straight bone point with very prominent internal barb.

Complete kahawai lure. Wooden shank with paua shell inlay. Straight bone point with internal barb. Muka lashings at head and base with twisted cord bundle at head.

Complete two-piece fish hook, with wooden shaft and bone point. Point is straight and barbed. Point is lashed with muka at base. Shaft is cylindrical in shape, with curved base and knob at head.

Kete Muka woven from natural and black dyed muka (flax fiber) using whatu aho patahi (single-pair weft-twining). Cast on for this kete is unusual as is appears a base cord has been used as a foundation, whenu (warp strands) have been added by creating a loop with the whenu and pulling both tail ends through. The body of this kete is decorated with mawhitiwhiti (woven cross stitch) patterns. A badly deteriorating natural and black muka three ply whiri (braid) has been added to act as a handle. Frill work woven outer edge in black and natural muka.

Complete kahawai lure. Curved wooden shank with notches at head and base. Muka lashings across notches and cord at head. Paua shell inlay. Bone point is complete and straight with internal barb. Orange and yellow feathers attached by lashings at the base.

Complete composite fishhook. Curved wooden shank with large bone point attached with muka lashings. Bone point is straight with and incurved tip and three external barbs and one internal barb. Lower external barb and internal barb have two notches on them. Additional muka lashings twisted around the head.

Complete cord drill made of wood with lashings of string and muka cord and a chalcedony drill point. Drill consists of a central spindle, a circular whirl, and four centre supports. The surfaces have been worked smooth. Perforated near the proximal end of the spindle. Distal end is notched on one side, and the chalcedony drill point is lashed to it with string.

Complete matarau (eel spear). Wooden handle worked to a sharp point at both ends. Six other prongs lashed to one end of the handle with two metal braces and muka fibre.

Complete matarau (eel spear). Wooden handle worked to a sharp point at one end. Six other prongs lashed to the point of the handle with vines and muka fibre.

Complete pōhā used for preserving tītī, consisting of a kelp bag inside of a flax kete with a bark liner. Kete is made in an under-one, over-one pattern, and plaited around the top edge. Long strips of bark, probably totara, cover the kelp bag, and are lashed together with strips of flax, and tied together tightly at the top.

Complete mutu kaka (bird snare). Handle is curved with decorative notches running down one side. Butt is carved with a geometric pattern and has two perforations with a vine and muka cord lashed through them. Perch is carved at one end with a human face facing upward, and there is a projection curving upward at the other end, representing the feet of the carved figure. Two perforations on either side of the figure's mouth each with a broken twig through them, lashed with a twisted muka cord. Another diagonal perforation from the figure's nose bridge to the back of the head, with a twisted muka cord passing through it, tied to a thicker plaited muka cord. A stick and a broken block of wood is lashed with a vine to the perch.

Complete kahawai lure. Curved bone shaft with paua shell inlay. Barbed bone fishhook point lashed to base with muka. Twisted muka cord at head.

Complete taiaha. Human face carved on both sides of the proximal end. Rauru (spiral and notch) pattern carved on protruding tongue. Distal edge of the tongue tapers to a point; sides are flattened. Paua shell inlay is intact in three of four eyes. Cloth padding wrapped around the shaft below the carved faces; narrow strip of black cloth patterned with yellow dots and a larger piece of undecorated brown cloth. Cloth and remnants of bird quills are lashed on using plaited muka fibre. Tufts of white dog hair attached to plaited muka at the base of the shaft. Blade is undecorated and worked smooth, tapering to a slight point at the distal edge.

Kete muka woven using whatu aho patahi (single-pair weft-twining). Woven from top to bottom. Kaupapa (body) decorated with mawhitiwhiti (woven cross stitch) patterns. X2 Three ply muka braids with tassels have been introduced as handles.

Large taha huahua (calabash container) consisting of a gourd inside a woven kete and a wooden frame. Gourd is dark brown/dark orange, with the top cut off to create a wide opening. There are four perforations around the rim of the gourd opening (only one is intact), used for fitting a tuki (wooden mouthpiece). Kete is woven in a under-one, over-one plait, using alternating black and natural unscraped flax. A plaited muka cord is tied around the kete opening, forming a series of loops and lashings around the wooden frame, as well as creating a handle. The wooden frame consists of two hoops around the kete and four legs, which rest diagonally to the calabash.

Piece of twisted muka cord

Complete composite fishhook. Wooden shank carved with double-sided faces at the head, one at the base and one below the point and other geometric shapes throughout. Curved bone point with two internal and two external barbs and two internal notches, lashed to the shank with twisted muka. Two knobs at the head with twisted muka lashings and a plaited cord projecting from the top.

Piece of kōkōwai wrapped in three layers of kete and kelp. Kōkōwai rests on a bed of feathers and soft fibre and is imprinted with fibre remnants of inner kete. Kete is plaited in over-one, under-one twill, with narrow strands of unscraped plant material. Middle layer is a piece of rigid kelp. Outer layer is a larger, more complete woven piece of kete, curled at the edges and quite rigid, plaited around one edge.

Complete composite fishhook. Curved wooden shank. Straight bone point with internal barb lashed with muka cord. Additional muka lashings and a twisted cord at the head. Bait notch at the base.

Complete barracouta fishing rod with attached lure. Rod is slightly curved wood. Carved with a diamond pattern midway down the rod, cross-section is round on the lower half below the carving and slightly flattened at the distal end. Distal end has a groove where the lure is attached with a line made from twisted muka fibre. Lure is wooden with a knob at the head. Point is a curved metal nail in the base. Several other smaller nails through the base for support.