Collection Search

Wooden carved wheku/koruru. Painted dark red and black. Carved with a rauponga (grooves and notches) and spiral pattern around the figure's mouth, tongue, nostrils, and top of the forehead. Paua shell inlaid into slanted eyes, held in place by metal pieces. Two perforations at the mouth on either side of protruding tongue. Back side has a piece of curved wood with a perforation for suspension.

complete, everything in place, no Tau. This Patu is in very good condition. On one side it is cracked along the blade, it has a small hole along that crack near the bottom. The crack has been fixed with adhesive. At the butt of the patu there are markings, Reke, that surround the hole for the tau.

Pounamu/nephrite pendant. Dark green kawakawa variety with lighter green inclusions. Surface is ground. Broken at the suspension hole, which was drilled from both sides. Slightly curved to a point at the distal end.

Broken pounamu pendant, proximal end remaining. Dark green and black. Circular cross section. Surface is ground smooth. A piece was previously broken off and glued back together. Reduction at the proximal end, with a suspension hole and a rounded edge.

Two complete pounamu pendants, tied together with red cloth. One pendant is dark green, with a ground surface. Oval shape with a lenticular cross section. Indentation on one side edge of the distal end. Suspension hole at the proximal end, but difficult to determine more about it due to cloth. Other pendant is dark green, with a ground surface and a rectangular shape and cross section. Tapered to the proximal end, which has a suspension hole. Distal end is chipped on one side. Cloth is dark red with some light brown on edges. Frayed and tied in several knots.

Complete stone minnow lure shank. Circular cross-section. One end is tapered to a point with a perforation. Other end has a notch.

Hei tiki, broken at the distal end. Dark and mid green pounamu. Surface is ground smooth. Suspension hole drilled from both sides at the proximal end. Head is tilted to the proper left side with eyebrows, eyes, nose and open mouth indicated. Proper right hand rests on chest and proper left rests on thigh. Each hand has three fingers and a thumb. Arms are curved, creating perforations. Proper right leg curves under torso, creating another perforation. Proper left leg is broken off.

Consists of two figures – perhaps Rangi-nui and Papa-tū-ā-nuku embracing - with a third figure under their legs forming, with other carvings, a lintel over the opening. Along the proper left side are three other faces, each with moko. The faces of all the figures have been left black while the rest of the carving is painted red. The eyes are inlaid with pāua shell. The top and right hand side show evidence of shaping for fitting the pātaka, as well there are holes for lashing on the right hand side. The carving may depict Rangi and Papa and some of their many sons who, until their parents were parted, lived in the darkness between their bodies. Tane personified the sun and was the fertiliser of the land and all its creatures; Tangaroa personified the sea and its inhabitants. These children of Rangi and Papa personified natural phenomena such as the sun, the moon, the sea, and the winds.

Complete pake (rain cape) made of flax and tussock. Thick plaited muka fibre at the top edge, with smaller plaited ties attached. Top third is bordered with a shorter layer of fibre. Bottom edge is uneven.

Complete comb, manufactured from 19 splinters of wood, including two thinker end pieces. These splinters are connected together by a long length of two-ply fibre that weaves the pieces together. The distal end of the end pieces have knobs that project outwards.

Complete comb, manufactured from 22 slivers of wood, with two being thicker end pieces. These tines are strapped together with thin fibre. The thicker end pieces has matching heads that face outwards at the distal end. Both chins are slightly damaged, with one laterally perforated.

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.

Complete mutu kaka (bird snare). Dark brown wood. Surface is smooth with chisel marks visible; no decorative carving. Handle is straight with an oblique edge and a notch at the butt. Perch is straight and tapered to a dull point at each end with a square-shaped perforation at the shorter end, where the handle meets the perch. Two grooves on one side of the perch.

Complete tewhatewha. The upper edge of the blade is straight but sloping. The lower edge is of the blade is curved, with a small fragment missing. There is a perforation through the lower blade. There is a small carving mid-way down the shaft of concentric diamonds, four on each side. These diamonds are surrounded by a raised dot pattern that curve around the tewhatewha.

Complete tuki (mouthpiece for a calabash), previously broken in four pieces and glued back together. Light brown and dark brown wood. Circular, slightly flared at the top rim. Interior surface is smooth. Exterior surface is carved with rauponga (ridges and triangular notches) pattern. Six small perforations at the top rim and ten perforations at the base. Base has a ridge on the rim for fitting onto gourd.

Complete tatā (canoe bailer). Mid brown wood. Surface is smooth but cracked, with four repairs with wire on the scoop and a large chip missing from the centre of the pouring edge. Handle is curved and projects over the scoop with a manaia on the butt. A piece apparently connected the head of the manaia to the bailer floor, but has been sawn away. Proximal end is carved with two manaia, bodies carved in a rauponga (ridge and notch) pattern. The rim above the manaia is carved with a rauponga on one side and a koru on the other side.

Complete tatā (canoe bailer). Made from dark brown rimu using steel tools. Curved handle projects over the scoop, with a manaia head carved at the butt. Below the handle, at the back of the scoop, is another carving and two perforations. Two pieces of loose wood on the carving have been re-attached in the past with heavy furniture nails. Scoop has a slight ridge on the interior, creating a straight-sided pouring edge

Complete pae manu (bird perch) consisting of a central bar with a bowl at each end. Dark brown wood. Surface is smooth. Side of the perch is carved in curved pattern, with perforations between the lines. Two straight perforations are drilled from top to bottom, possibly for mounting purposes. One bowl has a human head facing externally, mouth is an open hole on the side. Nose, eyes, eyebrow, and five topknots at the head are indicated. Bowl at the other end is smaller but deeper, with a human figure carved externally. Tongue protrudes and lips, nose, and eyes are indicated, as well as a torso with inwardly curved limbs. Both bowls have flattened rims and the interior surfaces are rough, with chisel marks evident.

Complete wooden kō with carved teka (digging stick with footrest). Very long handle with notched, pointed end. Distal end is rounded with notched side edges. Teka is lashed to kō with harakeke strands. Top of teka is sawn flat, with a slight curve at the distal end. Human figure is carved on the bottom. Eyebrows, nose, and mouth are depicted. Both hands, with three fingers on each, are inside mouth. Legs are depicted at the base.

Complete pouwhenua. Light brown wooden surface is undecorated, smooth, and polished. Pointed at proximal end. Relatively narrow blade, flattened with rounded edge.