A stunning Manaia with a Koru at the heart handcrafted from a wonderful piece of Marsden Flower Pounamu, a stunning carving with an Auhunga Pounamu toggle on the neutral-coloured binding, this will be a fantastic taonga for someone special.
Manaia
is a mythological creature in Māori culture and is a common motif in Māori carving and jewellery. The Manaia is usually depicted as having the head of a bird and the tail of a fish and the body of a man, though it is sometimes depicted as a bird, a serpent, or a human figure in profile. The Manaia is traditionally believed to be the messenger between the earthly world of mortals and the domain of the spirits, and its symbol is used as a guardian against evil.
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.
Marsden Putiputi (Flower)
Pounamu from the Marsden, West Coast area. The centre of this stone is a highly translucent, light-ish green shade, free from dark spots and other flaws. One of the rarest varieties, held in high esteem by the Māori. The most prized Greenstone in New Zealand is Flower Jade, Greenstone with pale green or ochre clouds of colour. This distinctive patterning and colouring come from the outside rim or 'rind' of the greenstone boulders or stones where the surface has oxidised.
Hand Carved in Kerry Thompson
Size 78mm long x 48mm wide
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.
