Featured Maori pendants, jade and bone, help with age please.

I have three Maori pendants of different ages.

The first one is an antique jade or bowenite (greenstone, Pounamu) Hei Tiki which was brought to The Netherlands in the 1930s, when it was already old or antique.
It is 8.2 cm/ 3.2” high, judging by the straight sides it is from the North Island of
New Zealand.
The eyes are not filled in with red sealing wax and there is no indication they ever have been. Just about all antique and vintage Hei Tiki’s I have seen, have those sealing wax rings. Does this mean this one dates from before the introduction of sealing wax to the Maori?
I have included photos of the hole, maybe that is another indication of the age. Any ideas?


The second one is a bone Manaia pendant, 5 cm/1.96” high. The eyes are filled in with some black substance, any ideas what that is, and the age, 1960s perhaps?
Modern ones usually have Paua (NZ abalone) eye rings, as do many old ones.


The third one is a jade Koru pendant, diameter 3.1 cm/1.22”. The koru is highly polished, like modern Maori jade pendants, but the surface is uneven, unlike modern ones, which are absolutely perfect.
The bail is 14k solid gold, unmarked. It is a completely closed ring, so it looks like it is original to the pendant. Again, any ideas as to the age?


Thanks for looking.

 

Hi AJ, I was wondering whether you might have contacted a New Zealand museum by any chance? (I hope I am not rude in asking as I know you are thorough in your knowledge and research and I enjoy reading your posts.)
They might have more intimate knowledge of the age and manufacturing techniques of the pendants, particularly the Hei Tiki.

By the way their are beautiful pieces, we had close family friends who were of Maori blood and I remember my mum having her own Hei Tiki. I must track it down amd make sure it stays with the family.

Good luck with the research

 

Hi gen belli, thanks for the compliment and, no, of course you are not rude.
I was hoping someone like Taupou might have an idea, but had already bookmarked an enquiry form from the Te Papa Museum in Wellington, NZ for the Tiki. With the form I can only upload one picture, but of course they can ask for more if they think it is necessary.
It is a lovely Hei Tiki, with an interesting story. It was acquired by a researcher of a former Education Museum in The Hague. He traveled the world in the 20s and 30s and had an amazing private collection of just about anything ethnographic. When he died in the late '60s, his sister and only heir opened a shop in The Hague to sell the collection. She was a lovely lady, with some great stories to tell. My mother and I visited her shop frequently and when I started my own shop in Asian antiques, about half the stock came from his collection. I still own a few pieces, but this is the only Maori carving.

 

great story...do you have any paperwork to go with it ?

 

Sadly not. I did send a picture of the Hei Tiki and query to the Te Papa Museum, and will let you know the result.

 

That is the most fascinating story I have heard of from a piece of jellewery. It conjures up Indiana Jones style escapades in search of precious antiquities.
Best of luck with the search I very much hope you get an answer from

 

Yes, he must have been a true adventurer.
He also traveled to places like Amdo in China, near the Tibetan border. I have a thangka (religious painting) which he got from a Buddhist monk who rode through Amdo to visit nomadic tribes. The thangka is pretty worn from the rough life on the road, but it is painted in a wonderfully rustic way with vibrant colours. It has the most amazing blue, made from ground lapis lazuli, just like some old European blue pigments, but less diluted.
Again, I have no paperwork, but an expert on Amdo thangkas will recognize the style and age.

 

An update on the first pendant, the pounamu hei tiki, here is a reply from an expert at the Te Papa Museum in Welington NZ:

"The stone is nephrite pounamu of kawakawa variety. It has most likely been sourced from the Central Westland area on the South Island’s West Coast between the present day towns of Hokitika and Greymouth.
I estimate the age of this hei tiki as being late 19th century to early 20th century.
While I can’t pinpoint a date or even an actual decade this example has been crafted using European tools and that locates its origins to the late 19th century at the earliest. One tell-tale sign is the way the nostrils, ribs and fingers have been sharply grooved. Earlier working of pounamu used abrasive stone files which wore themselves in the process of shaping out the hei tiki features. This resulted in smoother contours to the finished adornment."

 

They don't give value estimates at the museum, but it can't be too bad:
https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2237/lots/59
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/...2641&sid=66a75efc-cf9b-4f38-98ee-1e79add37622

 

I'm glad you heard back from the expert.
I've held a couple of these in my hand & going by your photo's ..this one is just not that well made....even though it appears to be genuine.
I doubt it would ever reach the auction price of the one above it.....
Like the expert, I can't say exactly when it was made.....but I believe he's being generous.

 

Is the bone pendant for sale?

 

Sorry, I didn't notice this before. I'm not ready to part with it yet.
Do you have any idea what the inlay is? And when it could have been made?

 

I really enjoy your post and the replies were very interesting too. Thanks for sharing.

 

The third one is lovely too .. they are all very beautiful but I love the coiled form of the Jade one .. Joy.

 

Thanks Joy, it is one of my favourites, along with the bone one.
The coiled shape is called koru, it is inspired by an unfurling fern frond. It stands for new growth, new life, new beginnings. But also for peace, tranquillity and family love.
The bone one is called Manaia, it is a guiding and guardian spirit. Like the Maori equivalent of a guardian angel. It represents the balance between sky, earth and water. The three fingers stand for past, present and future.

 

I knew there was an inner reason for being attracted to the fern form of the jade pendant .. It stands for all of my inner feelings, if that make sense .. so lovely, .. Joy.