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box
Unknown
Museum of Ethnography
Stockholm, Sweden
Ask av trä, snidad. Med lock. På underdelens kortsidor utskjutande knoppar dekorerade med skivor av pärlemor.
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Details
- Title: box
- Creator: Unknown
- Location Created: Nya Zeeland
- External Link: Link to source
- Text till utställningen Avian Allies: Wakahuia or treasure boxes served as containers for various family heirlooms (taonga). They were originally created to store the highly prized black and white tail feathers of the now extinct huia bird, after which the boxes are named. Waka Other valuable personal ornaments such as earrings or pendants made from greenstone (pounamu) and whale ivory were also stored in them. Access to prestige materials such as huia feathers and greenstone, and to food sources, was controlled by the chief of each clan. Only those of high rank were entitled to wear ornaments made from these materials. Wakahuia themselves were highly prized, heirloom objects (taonga) and were often given personal names. The figural handles at each end possibly represent manaia, a bird/lizard/human figure from Māori mythology often ascribed with protective qualities. It was from these handles that the box was suspended from the rafters of a home or storehouse, from which the fully carved underside of the box would have been visible.
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