A beautifully handcrafted Toki from a gorgeous dark piece of Tangiwai Pounamu with a double Koru etched into the front. This incredible Toki is dark green and you can see a touch of translucency at the bottom, a very special taonga.
Toki/Adze
– The Toki had much meaning for the Māori, fashioned from stone or greenstone it was an essential tool for survival and day to day life for the Māori. That is the reason Māori attribute the spiritual meaning of strength and power to the Toki. This symbol represents Mana, determination, control, strength, focus and honour.
Koru- The Māori word for bright or loop. It refers to the shoots of the silver fern. The circular movement to the inner core refers to "going back to the beginnings". The unfurling frond itself is symbolic for new life, new beginnings, hope, personal growth, purity nurturing, a new phase in life, the spirit of rejuvenation and peace.
Tangiwai
is the most ancient form of pounamu. It is bowenite rock, which is different in composition to the more common nephrite. A translucent to transparent olive green to bluish-green variety of serpentine, most Tangiwai is sourced from two isolated areas at Piopiotahi (Milford Sound), Poison Bay and Anita Bay and deposits found in Nelson. Tangiwai takes its name from the tears that come from great sorrow. Tangi means "to cry" and Wai means "water", or "tears". Koko-Tangiwai, the longer name for this stone, refers to a deep sorrow that is never completely healed. There are many sad stories that tell of Tangiwai pounamu's origins.
Hand carved by Aaron Tarbeck
Size 109mm long x 33mm wide x 10mm 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.
