New Acquisitions

Complete hue or taha tuatua (gourd container or calabash) inside a woven kete. Oval shape, with a rounded base broken in several fragments. Top is cut off at the neck, creating a large circular hole with sides worked smooth. Kete is made of unscraped harakeke, plaited in an over-one, under-one twill, broken in several places and with a broken muka handle. Metal ring and broken pieces in plastic bags accompany the hue.

Complete tatā (canoe bailer). Dark brown wood. Handle is straight and carved with a rauponga (ridge and notch) pattern and a face carving at the proximal end. Eyebrows, eyes (one with paua shell and one missing), nose and mouth indicated. Scoop is U-shaped with thick walls. Exterior surface is carved with faces and spirals around the rim and koru pattern on the bottom. The carvings on the scoop are amateur, possibly unauthentic and added after the handle carvings. The interior of the scoop is unornamented with a ridge at the pouring edge.

Complete kahu huruhuru (fowl and kiwi feather cloak). There are kiwi feathers along the borders mixed with fowl feathers. There are reddish fowl feathers and white fowl feathers with iridescent black fowl feathers tags that form vertical parallel lines. Along the bottom edges there is black and natural twine fringing. The top of the cloak is worked in a thick multi-strand braid with two ties approximately 25cm from the edges. The cloak is wider at the top, narrowing towards the lower edge.

Complete silcrete blade. Light grey, Mid yellow, mid grey, and light red in colour. Weathering on ventral surface. Retouch on left lateral margin of dorsal surface.

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 silcrete blade. Mid grey in colour. Flake scars on dorsal surface. Retouch present on right lateral margin of dorsal surface

Broken silcrete blade, proximal portion remaining. Light grey, mid grey, and mid yellow in colour. Weathering on right margin of dorsal surface. Retouch on right lateral margin of ventral surface.

Broken silcrete blade, proximal portion remaining. Light brown, mid grey, and dark grey in colour. Weathering on ventral surface. Retouch bilaterally on margins of ventral surface.

Complete silcrete blade. Mid grey, black, cream, and white in colour. Flake scars on dorsal surface. Weathering on most surfaces. Retouch along distal margin.

Broken silcrete blade, proximal portion remaining. Dark brown, dark grey, and white in colour. Flake scar on ventral surface. Retouch bilaterally on ventral surface, as well as on dorsal surface.

Complete chalcedony blade. Dark grey, mid yellow, cream, white, light grey, and light brown in colour. Cortex on dorsal surface. Flake scars on ventral surface. Retouch on left lateral margin of ventral surface, and left lateral margin of dorsal surface.

Broken argillite blade, medial portion remaining. Cream, dark brown, and mid grey in colour. Weathering on ventral surface. Bilateral retouch on dorsal surface.