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Neck Pendant (Hei-tiki)
1800s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Among the Māori, leaders are hereditary and imbued with mana, power and prestige that can be embodied and passed down in the artworks associated with them. Hei-tiki are among these treasured, mana-charged heirlooms, which connect the living to ancestors of the islands’ pre-European past. They may represent Hine-te-Iwaiwa, a legendary ancestress who is the exemplar of Māori womanhood and the patron of childbirth.
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Details
- Title: Neck Pendant (Hei-tiki)
- Date Created: 1800s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 16.9 x 10.2 cm (6 5/8 x 4 in.)
- Provenance: Harry Beasley, John Wise, Harry Beasley; John Wise
- Type: Sculpture
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.107
- Medium: Greenstone (pounamu) (nephrite?)
- Fun Fact: Hei-tiki may represent Hine-te-Iwaiwa, a legendary ancestress who is the exemplar of Māori womanhood.
- Department: Oceania
- Culture: Pacific Islands, Polynesia, New Zealand, Māori people
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James B. Wadhams in memory of Miss Helen Humphreys
- Collection: Oceanic Art
- Accession Number: 1969.107
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