| Native Name | Hei Tiki |
| Object Number | 29-180-3 |
| Current Location | Collections Storage |
| Culture | Maori |
| Provenience | New Zealand |
| Section | Oceanian |
| Materials | Greenstone | Shell |
| Description | Greenstone pendant. Hei tiki. Human figure with oversized head tilted to one side, arms akimbo, legs flexed, feet together.Eyes inlaid with Haliotis (Paua) shell. The perforation for suspension is visible in front. See 29-180-4 and 29-180-5. 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. Hei tiki. Rounded head, serrated paua in eyes, nose and triangle, mouth worn away. Raised line for breasts, shoulders well modelled. |
| Height | 6.1 cm |
| Credit Line | Bequest of Maxwell Sommerville, 1904 |
| Other Number | 2619 - Sommerville Gem Number | 29-128-2619 - Old Museum Number |
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