Lot 45 , A rare Maori whale bone and paua shell pendant, hei tiki of unusual hei matau form, possibly late 18th/early 19th century, H. 8.8cm, sh

A rare Maori whale bone and paua shell pendant, hei tiki of unusual hei matau form, possibly late 18th/early 19th century, with two manaia heads on a wide single tiki body; with a single suspension hole to one head and paua shell inlaid eyes, H. 8.8cm, shell inlay lacking to two eyes
Estimate £300-500

cf. The British Museum no. Oc1896,-.925.a for a nephrite pendant of identical form described by Hooper, Stephen, Pacific Encounters, Art & Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, BMP, 2006 as a unique combination of hei tiki and hook pendant (hei matau), this ornament has a beautiful pale green colour. Unusually it has two suspension holes; a now detached short cord and bone toggle (not shown) may not be original. Nephrite (pounamu) from several remote western and southern parts of the South Island varied in colour and clarity depending on the source.See T. Barrow, 'Two hei tiki-matau Amulets', Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 70, No,3, 1961, p.353.

Provenance - East Sussex private collection acquired in the UK prior to 1990.


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Sold for £600