Artwork Page for Neck Pendant (Hei-tiki)

Details / Information for Neck Pendant (Hei-tiki)

Neck Pendant (Hei-tiki)

1800s

Pacific Islands, Polynesia, New Zealand, Māori people

Medium
Greenstone (pounamu) (nephrite?)
Measurements
Overall: 16.9 x 10.2 cm (6 5/8 x 4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James B. Wadhams in memory of Miss Helen Humphreys 1969.107
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Hei-tiki may represent Hine-te-Iwaiwa, a legendary ancestress who is the exemplar of Māori womanhood.

Description

Among the Māori, leaders are hereditary and imbued with mana, power and prestige that can be embodied and passed down in the artworks associated with them. Hei-tiki are among these treasured, mana-charged heirlooms, which connect the living to ancestors of the islands’ pre-European past. They may represent Hine-te-Iwaiwa, a legendary ancestress who is the exemplar of Māori womanhood and the patron of childbirth.
Greenstone, a smooth, dark green rock, carved into a highly abstracted creature-like shape. The head, almost as big as the body, tilts to our left, with carved out circles as eyes, a diamond shape between them, and a beak-like mouth. The figure has a rectangular torso, legs spread out the the side, and arms curving down to merge by the hips. Where details have been carved out, the rock appears black.

Neck Pendant (Hei-tiki)

1800s

Pacific Islands, Polynesia, New Zealand, Māori people

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