An old Maori carved pounamu small mere, traditional tapered…
click the photo to enlarge
An old Maori carved pounamu small mere, traditional tapered spatulate blade, the rounded butt with three incised curved bands, drilled hour-glass suspension hole. The bowenite of variable tone with some near clear pale green inclusions. Length 19.5 cm. Provenance: The Flower Family Collection.

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Incised - A record of a name, date or inscription, or a decoration scratched into a surface, usually of a glass or ceramic item with a blunt instrument to make a coarse indentation. Compare with engraving where the surface is cut with a sharp instrument such as a metal needle or rotating tool to achieve a fine indentation.
  • Bowenite - Bowenite is a semi-precious stone, usually light or dark green, but also found in colors ranging from light yellow, canary yellow, brown, blue and gray. One of the largest deposits is in the South Island of New Zealand, where it was used for tools, weapons and jewellery by the Maori, and known as greenstone and tangiwai. Other deposits are in South Africa and China.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

A Maori whalebone hand club (patu Pararoa). Large flared profile with staining and blotchy appearance, possibly from swamp immersion. Blade narrowing to grip with flared butt. Straight sided suspension holes. Four minor chips to circumference of blade. Len

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Patu muka of classic bulbous form with pecked surface

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Superb toki pounamu - adze finished adze with smooth edges evident on all sides. Pre-European kawakawa nephrite. Fracture evident to poll end. Length 30 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Large Stone Mere. Dark flecked stone with a manaia head to handle. Length 45 cm, W12 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.