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Pendant

Native NameHei Tiki
Object Number:P3124
Current Location: Collections Storage
Culture:Maori
Provenience: New Zealand
Section:Oceanian
Materials:Greenstone
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

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.

Current & Past Exhibitions:

Discovering the Past: Highlights from the University Museum (IBM) (20 Jun 1989 - 20 Aug 1989) View Objects in Exhibition

Bibliography:

[Article] Hall, Henry U. 1920. "Maori Wood Carving and Moko". The Museum Journal. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 11. no. 4. pg. 212-244 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 238View Objects related to this Actual Citation
[Article] Davidson, Daniel S. 1947. "The Oceanic Collections of the University Museum". The University Museum Bulletin. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 12. no. 3-4. pg. 1-109 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 1View Objects related to this Actual Citation
[Catalogue] Simmons, D. R. 1982. Catalogue of Maori Artefacts in the Museums of Canada and the United States of America.. Auckland. Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Pl. 211 b (top right)View Objects related to this Actual Citation
[Catalogue] Simmons, D. R. 1982. Catalogue of Maori Artefacts in the Museums of Canada and the United States of America.. Auckland. Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 322View Objects related to this Actual Citation

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