This Hei Matau is hand carved from Inanga Pounamu, showing soft pale green tones with subtle shifts in colour through the stone. The hook form is clean and well balanced, giving the piece a calm sense of flow and direction. Finished with a smooth polish, it carries gentle clarity and refined natural character.
Hei Matau(Fishhook) - Originally Maori have been fishermen. Their main food source was the sea, so a fishhook of high quality was a very valuable item to own. The hook became a symbol of prosperity, abundance, good health, power, authority and respect for the sea and its life in it. They also provide good luck and safety while traveling across water.
Inanga
– This 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.
Hand Carved by Kurtis Bell
Size 78mm Long x 40mm wide x 7mm 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.
