Object number
AE.1955.0004.0005.1-2
Department
Title
Feather box (wakahuia), storage box for ceremonial finery of the Maori peoples
Creator
Description
The Polynesian ruling class attached great importance to the dressing of hair and body decoration. Maori chiefs decorated their hair with feathers and combs, and adorned themselves with amulets like hei tiki, which were often inherited from ancestors. Much of this jewellery was worn on and around the chief’s head, the most potent part of the body, and was therefore highly tapu (taboo) for ordinary people. That is why they were kept in the wakahuia (feather box) placed high in the chief’s home. This explains why they or carved underneath.
Waka means canoe, while huia is the bird whose feathers were worn in the hair.
Production place
New Zealand (state)
Production date
1800 - 1899
Object name
Material
Dimensions
height: 10 cm (geheel)
length: 65 cm (geheel)
width: 15.5 cm (geheel)
Acquisition date
1955-05-27
Acquisition method
exchange - Straete, J. Van der
