Native Name | Hei Tiki |
Object Number | P3124 |
Current Location | Collections Storage |
Culture | Maori |
Provenience | New Zealand |
Section | Oceanian |
Materials | Greenstone |
Description | Greenstone pendant. Hei tiki. Human figure with oversized head tilted to one side, arms akimbo, legs flexed, feet together. Triangular pointed head in Taranaki style. Large eyes, nose and mouth clearly marked. Shoulders well modelled with line marking breast and a line under this. "Ankle" knobs at base of tiki. Head with chin on left shoulder, slightly narrower (5.5 cm) than the body (6.6 cm). Head length 5.8 is in proportion to the body (7.1 cm) slightly smaller. Greenstone pendants ( hei tiki ) were, and are, treasured Maori ornaments. Their value derives from the hours of labor required to carve the hard material and from association with the ancestors through whose hands the carvings have passed, from generation to generation. |
Height | 12.9 cm |
Width | 7 cm |
Depth | 0.8 cm |
Credit Line | Purchased from W. O. Oldman, 1912 |
Other Number | 29664 - Dealer's Number | 0109 - Cast Number |
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