A gorgeous handcrafted half Koruru from a lovely piece of Inanga Flower Pounamu. The colour and patterns in this stone are fantastic and with a Paua eye, makes this a truly unique taonga.
Koruru
are architectural features on large whare tupuna or wharenui (meeting houses) that join the two-front facing maihi (barge boards) at the top apex. A koruru's face is also the face of the represented tupuna (ancestor) embodied in the carved constructed form of the whare tupuna. Many whare whakairo are named after ancestors. The building is regarded as an outstretched body. The koruru (gable head) is the face of the ancestor, the maihi (bargeboards) the arms, the kūwaha (door) the mouth, the tāhuhu (ridgepole) the spine, and the heke (rafters) the ribs.
Inanga- Pounamu takes its name from a freshwater fish native to New Zealand. It is pale and often transparent, like the young of the Inanga fish. It is pearly white to grey green in colour, and ranges from translucent to quite opaque. It can change colour over time, developing a light olive tint as it ages and oxidises - Highly prized by the Māori and the desired material for making Mere and Patu.
Putiputi (Flower) Jade- is New Zealand’s most prized Greenstone, with pale green or ochre clouds of colour. This distinctive patterning and colouring come from the outside rim or 'rind' of the greenstone boulders or stones where the surface has oxidised.
Hand Carved by Katene Campbell
Size: 52mm long x 27mm wide x 9mm thick
This will be the exact piece you will receive in the photos, there may be a slight degree of colour variation based on different computer or device screen resolutions that you are viewing from.
