Te Takapū - National Stone & Bone Carving School
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At Te Takapū, students learn the revered tradition of carving pounamu (Nephrite-Jade/Greenstone), bone and stone.
The school opened on 5 October 2009, expanding on NZMACI’s commitment to maintaining, developing and promoting the arts, crafts and culture of iwi Māori (Māori tribes) as mandated by the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute Act (1963) (History).
The school was first led by Lewis Gardiner who is a well-regarded pounamu artist of his generation.
Stacy Gordine, a renowned artist from the East Coast of New Zealand – and uri of Hone Te Kauru and Pine Taiapa – now leads the programme and is shaping the direction of the wānanga into the future.
Would you like something custom made especially for you? Commission a piece here
Hei Poupou - 6739PD
The interior walls of the whare whakairo (carved meeting house) are adorned with carvings called poupou. Each poupou in a meeting house connects to a common ancestor, after whom the house was named. Spaced evenly along the inside walls, each poupou supported a rafter panel which extended from the main central ridge, reinforcing the importance of whakapapa (genealogy) to the living generations.
Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)
Measurements: 112mm x 68mm
$9,244.00
Hei Tiki - 6177KH
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
$3,500.00
Hei Tiki - 5877SG
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 (Tokatea)
Measurements: 80mm x 48mm x 8mm
$3,500.00
Hei Tiki - 6184KH
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: 140mm x 67mm x 15mm
$3,200.00
Hei Tiki - 6717PD
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
$2,600.00
Hei Tiki - 6178KH
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: 95mm x 40mm x 16mm
$2,300.00
Whakakai - 4379TO
Material: Ōnewa (NZ Greywacke) & Koiwi (Beef Bone)
Measurements: 190mm x 35mm x 30mm
$2,090.00
Aurei - 5474MA
Aurei were customarily used as a pin for fastening cloaks and may be made from bone, stone, wood or shell. They may also have been worn through the ear as an earring or around the neck as a pendant. Aurei are still commonly worn as pendants and earrings and as with most Māori personal adornments, are often passed down generationally.
Material: Parāoa (Whalebone)
Measurements: 142mm x 15mm x 23mm
$1,900.00
Toki Earrings - 5700RH
Toki earrings (or drop earrings) are designed to suspend from the bottom of the earlobes. The length varies from a centimetre or two, all the way to brushing the wearer's shoulders.
Material: Parāoa (Whalebone)
Measurements: 75mm x 15mm x 3mm
$490.00
Toki Earrings - 6826RH
Toki earrings (or drop earrings) are designed to suspend from the bottom of the earlobes. The length varies from a centimetre or two, all the way to brushing the wearer's shoulders.
Material: Parāoa (Whalebone)
Measurements: 70mm x 9mm x 5mm
$490.00
Māhē - 4501HW
Māhē are sinker stones used to weigh down fishing nets.
Material: Otaua (Greywacke)
Measurements: 50mm x 37mm x 35mm
$490.00
Pōria Kākā - 5497MA
Pōria Kākā are leg rings crafted from bone or stone used to keep pet kākā (parrots) from flying away. The giant kaka parrot was used by the Māori to assist them during hunting. The bird was used as a decoy to capture other kaka parrots.
As with many Māori items the kaka ring was both used as a tool as well as an adornment.
Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)
Measurements: 35mm x 25mm x 4mm
$450.00
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