Subject: ariki / rangatira warrior chief
Culture: Maori
Setting: Musket Wars, Aotearoa / North Island 1807-1830
Object: hei tiki pendant
Brooklyn Museum > Art of the Pacific Islands *
"Pendant (Hei Tiki) Maori people; New Zealand, North Island, 18th or early 19th century Nephrite and shell ...
Nephrite is a rare mineral, and within Polynesia is found only in New Zealand. The Maori, the original inhabitants of New Zealand, treasured nephrite as a substance of great value and spriitual significance. It is an extremely hard material that required months to shape through various methods of abrasion. It is likely that the fine details on this pendant were carved with the edge of a seashell."
* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Oceania
"Left to right: Pendant (Hei Tiki) Maori people, Aotearoa (New Zealand), 18th-19th century Greenstone ...
Pendant (Hei Tiki) Maori people, Aotearoa (New Zealand), 19th-19th century Greenstone ...
Pendant (Hei Tiki) Maori people, Aotearoa (New Zealand), 19th-19th century Greenstone, shell ..."
* Museum of Fine Arts > Arts of Asia, Oceania, and Africa > Arts of Oceania
"Three pendants (hei tiki) Maori peoples, New Zealand, 19th century or earlier Nephrite jade
Nephrite pendants in the form of contorted human figures were the most valued Maori possessions.
It has been estimated that it required 750 hours to produce one pendant.
Worn around the necks of both men and women, tiki were important heirlooms,
gaining mana (inner powers) as they were passed down through the generations.
The imagery on tiki is thought to represent ancestors, corpses, and fetuses.
Each tiki had its own name and was addressed in person when brought out of the treasure box." ...
American Museum of Natural History > Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples *
* Tiki King
American Museum of Natural History > Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples *
* Air New Zealand
* International Museum of Cultures
*
