Carved Treasure Box

National Museum of Natural History

Object Details

Donor Name
United States Exploring Expedition
CARVED BOX, "WAKAHUIA," CALLED A TREASURE OR FEATHER BOX; OF RECTANGULAR SHAPE WITH TWO HUMAN HEADS AT EITHER END WITH ABALONE (HALIOTIS) [paua] INLAID EYES. THE BOX IS COVERED WITH STRAIGHT LINE DESIGN, "PAKATI" STYLE. EXAMINED AND IDENTIFIED AS AN EAST COAST, BAY OF ISLANDS STYLE BY H.D. SKINNER, 1922 AND D.R. SIMMONS, 1974. HAS ORIGINAL PEALE TAG. PUBLICATION: USNM PROCEEDINGS, VOL. 79, ART. 30, PL. 11B, P. 54. THIS OBJECT HAD BEEN ON PERMANENT EXHIBIT IN THE PACIFIC HALL, BUT WAS REMOVED AND EXHIBITED MAGNIFICENT VOYAGERS, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 1985-86. EXHIBITED SITES "MAGNIFICENT VOYAGERS," 1987-89.
FROM CARD: "ILLUS. USNM PROCEEDINGS, VOL.79, ART. 30; PL. 11B. P. 54. D.R. SIMMONS, NOV. 1974; WAKAHUIA OF RECTANGULAR SHAPE WITH TWO HUMAN HEADS, THE REST OF THE BOX BEING COVERED WITH STRAIGHT LINE DESIGN (PAKATI) STYLE. EAST COAST MADE WITH STEEL TOOLS. H. D. SKINNER, MAY 1922, DUNEDIN, NZ: THIS APPEARS TO BE A LOCAL BAY OF ISLANDS TYPE. A BOX CLOSELY RESEMBLING THIS WAS COLLECTED BY BARON VON HUGEL IN THE "THIRTIES". IT IS NOW IN CAMBRIDGE, MUS. ENGLAND. CARVING OF BOTH EXAMPLES EXECUTED WITH STEEL TOOLS."
Peale catalogue identifies #s 510 - 512 as "Dressing case (waka o te pare) of a New Zealand chief." Additional notes from D.R. Simmons, Curator, Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland, New Zealand, 1973: "Waka o te pare = box for ornaments. These are more commonly called wakahuia or papahou, or in English - feather or treasure boxes."
Record Last Modified
30 Jul 2020
Specimen Count
1
Culture
Maori
Accession Date
1858
Collection Date
1840
Accession Number
66A00050
USNM Number
E3787-0
Object Type
Box
Length - Object
54 cm
Width - Object
18 cm
Height - Object
12 cm
Length - Object
54 cm
Width - Object
18 cm
Depth - Object
12 cm
Place
North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) / Bay of Islands, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Polynesia
See more items in
Anthropology
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
Topic
Ethnology
Record ID
nmnhanthropology_8414982
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/34f4908dd-c3c5-43b4-b382-7ca7170f0247
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