The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Treasure Box (Wakahuia)
1800s
Overall: 17.2 cm (6 3/4 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Decorated with low-relief spiral designs and small carved figures at each end, the treasure box was used to store ornaments worn by chiefs: feathers of the huia bird, combs, and pendants (hei-tiki). Because the heads and necks of high-ranking Maori chiefs were tapu, or sacred, their personal adornments were dangerous to children or individuals of lower rank. Treasure boxes were therefore hung from the rafters of the chief's house. Boxes like this one were in use when Captain Cook visited New Zealand in 1769-70.- Harry BeasleyHarry Beasley
- Sims, Lowery Stokes. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. p. 117, color repr. p. 52, no. 40.
- The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).MOCA Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006): "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art", no. 40, p. 117, color repr. p. 52.Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).The Imagination of Primitive Man. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (organizer) (January 18-February 25, 1962).
- {{cite web|title=Treasure Box (Wakahuia)|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1961.405