This is an incredible handcrafted half hidden Koruru from an exceptional piece of Auhunga Pounamu. The large Paua Shell eye is striking against the stunning colours, and patterns in this stone are fantastic and with face emerging from inside the Pounamu, set into a beautiful Rimu wood base and carved by a master carver 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.
Auhunga- Genuine West Coast Greenstone from the Arahura River area, West Coast. Auhunga Pounamu is a pale opaque green colour. Resembling the Southern New Zealand mountains, its --name translates to frosty, given as the intermediate of Inanga and Kawakawa.
Paua
Shell – Abalone, our Paua shell is rich and deep in iridescent colours unique to New Zealand. Found all around the rocky shoreline coast but grows best in southern waters. Paua shell has been traditionally used by Maori to illuminate the eyes & features of carvings and artwork. While Paua sits within the abalone family, which is found in other parts of the world, namely, South America, Australia, Western North America, and Japan, our Paua's hidden, bright multi-coloured interior shell is only found in New Zealand.
Base - Rimu
is a dense native timber of NZ. It is deep reddish brown in colour and is strong and durable. A stunning timber - one of the most beautiful in the world with a fine textured grain.
Hand Carved by Josh Manning
Sculpture 125mm long x 83mm wide x 36mm thick approx
Base Size: 110mm wide x 90mm deep x 40mm high
Total height 152mm
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.
