A stunning new exhibition has opened at the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. Entitled
“Kura Pounamu: Treasured Stone of New Zealand”, the exhibition features
over 200 pounamu taonga (greenstone treasures) from across New Zealand. In addition to works from Te Papa’s own collection, visitors will have a rare opportunity to see luminous pounamu treasures from special private collections including the
New Zealand Olympic Team’s mauri stone that travels with them to competitions; and touchstones from the South Island iwi (tribe), Ngai Tahu.
Valued for its beauty, strength and durability, pounamu is found only in the South Island and it has traditionally been used for centuries as a peace-maker, weapon, adornment, tool and treasure.
Kura Pounamu showcases traditional and contemporary pieces, including a breathtaking mass display of
hei tiki (pendants in human form, as shown above), ear pendants, necklaces, tools for carving (adzes and chisels) and a wall dedicated to a display of
mere pounamu (nephrite weapons).
Many of these objects have a whakapapa (geneology) and fascinating histories, many of them linked to famous New Zealand historical events and people.
Visitors will also be able to enter
an immersion room, where they can touch pounamu boulders on loan to Te Papa by
the kaitiaki (guardians) of pounamu, the South Island’s Ngai Tahu iwi. Acclaimed musician Richard Nunns and Dteve Garden has also composed pieces especially for the show, which will be played on
pounamu taonga puoro (traditional Maori musical instruments made of pounamu). It’s an interactive area where visitors can hear the stories associated with pounamu; and where they can also record and share their own stories.
Pounamu has always played a powerful role in affirming and building a variety of relationships for Maori. In the past, families exchanged pounamu treasures when people married to symbolise their new connection; and former enemies presented each other with gifts (pounamu mere perhaps)
to establish links and lasting peace. In some districts, this peace-making tradition was called
te tatau pounamu – a ‘greenstone door.’ This extensive exhibition, which occupies Te Papa’s Level 4, also tells the stories of important events – the story of the ceremonial pounamu used at
the signing of the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu) Vesting Act 1997, when the new Labour Government formally handed ownership of pounamu to Ngai Tahu. If you’d like to know more about this exciting exhibition, Te Papa have developed a mini-site –
www.tepapa.govt.nz/pounamu, which provides further information about the exhibition and the taonga in it.
All images shown here are the property of and are used courtesy of The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; and should not be downloaded. They are as follows:
Top: Hei tiki (pendant in human form), 2008, by Lewis Tamihana Gardiner (b.1972), Te Arawa, Ngati Awa, Whanau-a-Apanui, Ngai Tahu iwi (tribes), pounamu (nephrite), synthetic fibre. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Second from Top: Hei tiki, pounamu, inanga variety, Arahura River, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Centre: Hei Tiki, pounamu, inanga variety, Arahura River, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Bottom pair – top image: ‘Tuhiwai’ mere pounamu (nephrite weapon), Ngati Toa and Ngai Tahu (tribes), Otago, pounamu (nephrite) kahurangi variety, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Bottom image of pair: Hei matau (hook-shaped pendant) pounamu kawakawa variety, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
The exhibition runs untils February 2011.
I wrote about the terrific new exhibition, Kura Pounamu: Treasured Stone of New Zealand at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa here last week (click on link below), but I thought I’d just add a word or three and bring you two more beautiful pieces from the display. At the risk of repeating myself – because I have written about pounamu several times before – I just wanted to add a note about the stone itself – rather than the 200-plus pounamu taonga (greenstone treasures) that make up Kura Pounamu. Greenstone occurs naturally only in the South Island of New Zealand, where it is found in seven main areas: Nelson, Westland, South Westland, Makarora (Wanaka district), Wakatipu, Milford Sound and the Livingstone Mountains. The two main types of pounamu are nephrite and bowenite – bowenite being the softer of the two and with a different mineral formation. It is also rarer than nephrite. The image above is a ‘Tuhiwai’ mere pounamu (nephrite weapon), Ngati Toa and Ngai Tahu iwi (tribes), Otago. Kahurangi variety,Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 
Maori classify pounamu according to its colours, markings and translucency and there are many local names for different pounamu. The four main varieties recognised by most iwi (tribes) are inanga, kahurangi, kawakawa and tangiwai. The range of appearance within each of these varieties is enormous and more than one variety can exist within one stone. Inanga – especially prized by Southern Maori - is a pearly-white or grey-green colour and varies from translucent to opaque. Kahurangi is the rarest variety of pounamu, is highly translucent and often comes in vivid shades of green. In the old days it was the preferred stone for the blades of toki poutangata (ceremonial adzes) owned by rangitira (chiefs). Kawakawa is the most common variety and it comes in many shades, often with small dark flecks. Tangiwai is clear, like glass, and ranges from olive green to bluish-green in colour. It is a bowenite rock and the most ancient form of pounamu found chiefly in two isolated areas at Piopiotahi (Milford Sound). (This, it should be noted is a brief summary of pounamu varieties only - just to give you an insight into the basics). The image above: Kaka poria (bird leg-ring) pounamu (bowenite), Tangiwai variety, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound). Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Kura Pounamu is showing at Te Papa until February 2011. www.tepapa.govt.nz 
