Matau (One piece pearl shell fish hook)

Matau. One piece pearl shell fish hook. The surface of the parau (pearl shell) is polished, and of a mottled dark and light yellow iridescent colour, finished to a sharpened point. A short piece of line made from braided 3 ply nape (coconut sennit) is attached to the top of the pearl shell hook with plant fibre seizing, knotted at the end. The line is brown in colour. Illustrated in "Polynesian Artifacts", pl 37.