Hei Matau (fish hook)

About this item

Title

Hei Matau (fish hook)

Content partner

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Collection

Te Papa Collections Online

Description

Hei matau are stylised fish hook neck pendants, usually made from pounamu (New Zealand greenstone). This hei matau is made from the inanga (milky white) variety of pounamu. The source of the pounamu has been identified as Westland, on the West Coast of the South Island. The elaborately carved crown is where a line would normally be bound on a functional fish hook, but in this case it is entirely decorative. The barb point has been decorated with delicate notching. Symbolic representationsHei ...

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Format

Image

Date created

1700-1850

URL

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/130312

Related subjects

inanga (stone) / pounamu / necklaces / pectorals / lapidary / Kaiapoi / Canterbury / Te Puawaitanga: 1500 - 1800 / Ngāi Tahu [attributed] / Augustus Hamilton

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