Āhua Gallery

Māripi are a traditional meat cutting tool. They are fashioned with a wooden handle and sharks’ teeth carved from Kōiwi (beef bone) to create a serrated edge.

Material: Rātā, Kōiwi (Beef Bone) & Pāua (Abalone)

Measurements: 340mm x 100mm x 30mm

Often the bailer (tatā, tīheru or tā wai) was beautifully carved, and some were given a name. In canoe traditions, tribal members still name the bailers used on the original voyaging canoes from Polynesia.

Material: Tōtara (Red Pine)

Measurements: 270mm x 370mm

The kākahu takes inspiration from traditional Māori cloaks. A kākahu is mantle of prestige and honour. This kākahu is made from mirowhiti miro (mop yarn) also incorporating materials that represent different types of kākahu including but not limited to kahu huruhuru (feathers) and tāniko.

Material: Cotton, Mop Yarn, Wool, Feathers

Measurements: 875mm x 775mm

Pāpaka (crab catching stick) originated in Hawaiki (the original homeland of Māori). Rēhua (the god of fish) handed a pāpaka to a rangatira (chief) before his journey to Aotearoa. This pāpaka is part of a limited edition of 12 bronze casts from an original wood carving by Kawana Waititi. The original will remain part of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute legacy collection.

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.

Material: Onewa (Graywacke)

Measurements: 183mm x 101mm x 25mm

Māripi are a traditional meat cutting tool. They are fashioned with a wooden handle and sharks’ teeth carved from Kōiwi (beef bone) to create a serrated edge.

Material: Rātā, Kōiwi (Beef Bone) & Pāua (Abalone)

Measurements: 370mm x 60mm x 30mm

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.

Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)

Measurements: 110mm x 71mm x 23mm

The maro is a frontal apron tied around the waist and is a traditional garment that is worn by both men and woman. This maro has been fashioned with strands of muka fibre within the flax.

Maro

Material: Harakeke & Muka

Measurements: 470mm x 340mm

Neck Piece

Material: Harakeke & Muka

Measurements: 305mm x 80mm

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.

Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)

Measurements: 88mm x 58mm

A waka tūpāpaku is a box used for containing the bones of a person of high rank after they had been exposed on the atamira platform, the flesh removed and the bones anointed with oil and red ochre, placed in a waka tūpāpaku and taken to a tribal buriel cave.

Material: Tōtara

Measurements: 580mm x 140mm x 110mm

An oko was traditionally used to house food.

Patu (meaning to strike or hit) were typically fashioned from native hardwood, whalebone or stone, including our highly valued pounamu (greenstone). Patu were often sharp at their forward edge and were used with thrusting, jabbing and swinging blows.

Māori weapons are notable for their fine sculptural form and were designed for close hand-to-hand combat. No other stone-age war implements surpassed them in deadly effectiveness.

Material: Onewa (NZ Greywacke)

Measurements: 380mm x 100mm