Enquiry about object: 9502
Maori Greenstone Pendant in the form of a Native Bat (Pekapeka)
Maori people, New Zealand 19th century
width: 7.2cm, length: 4.8cm, weight: 38g
Provenance
UK art market
This pendant from the Maori people of New Zealand is in an uncommon form and represents a native bat or pekapeka.
It has been carved from a single piece of nephrite-like greenstone (pounamou). It is pierced with two ‘wings’, each with an eye at the top infilled with red sealing wax, and with a hand drilled suspension loop at the top.
See Austin (2017, p. 78-79) for some pekapeka pendants attributed to 1750-1850.
The pendant is smooth all over and without any file marks, with worn contours and an unevenly drilled suspension hole.
Overall, it is in excellent condition.
This photograph, which dates to around 1860, shows the wearer with a pekapeka pendant beneath which are two large hei-tikis.
References
Austin, D., La Pierre Sacree des Maori, Musee du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac, 2017.
Starzecka, D. C., R. Neich & M. Pendergrast, The Maori Collections of the British Museum, British Museum Press, 2010.
