Maori Mere pounamu

kronckew · 7th November 2014, 04:34 PM

tiaha & patu have arrived. the taiaha is a nice heavy hard wood, surprisingly weighty compared to the other slightly shorter taiaha which is a NZ evergreen wood. this one just reaches the bottom of my chin, which i understand is about the right length for me.

oiled finish, not lacquered. 1 old wormhole that goes all the way thru & a couple shallow holes about 2mm deep. a number of dents from parrying as noted earlier. ill give it a few drinks of boiled linseed (flax) oil.

the newish patu has a clear urethane coating (would have preferred an oil finish), nice grain, couple shrinkage cracks near what look like knots in the wood that do not go all the way thru.. coating doesn't go all the way thru the lanyard hole which is fairly roughly bored. very sharp edges on the 'blade', 245 gm. 12" x 4" x 3/4". gave it a braided leather lanyard as a present. this one is not plastic.

fireiceviper · 7th November 2014, 05:10 PM

kronckew i have a taiaha similar to yours , i also believe it is 20th century ( i cant say early mid or late)

Everything i have seen posted here to me looks mid to late 20th century or even newer...

A good resource is the tepapa museum archive located here :
for taiaha:
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...iaha&scope=all
for mere:
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...magesOnly=true

Another recent mere i esquired about can be found here
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...b-patu-pounamu
This one to me actually doesn't look that bad, but its definitely a tourist or recent made piece, the size gives most of them away... oh and ignore the possible 19th century ... its not but the price was ok in my opinion.

I've included some pictures of my taiaha (156 cm)

kronckew · 7th November 2014, 06:55 PM

mine was listed as 'mid 20th c.

the evergreen one i know is recent (21st c.) and probably this year's model.

19c & earlier stuff if real goes for more than i can afford. vintage, not so bad.

7th November 2014, 05:10 PM	#2
fireiceviper Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 87	kronckew i have a taiaha similar to yours , i also believe it is 20th century ( i cant say early mid or late) Everything i have seen posted here to me looks mid to late 20th century or even newer... A good resource is the tepapa museum archive located here : for taiaha: http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...iaha&scope=all for mere: http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...magesOnly=true Another recent mere i esquired about can be found here http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...b-patu-pounamu This one to me actually doesn't look that bad, but its definitely a tourist or recent made piece, the size gives most of them away... oh and ignore the possible 19th century ... its not but the price was ok in my opinion. I've included some pictures of my taiaha (156 cm) Attached Images

7th November 2014, 04:34 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,259	tiaha & patu have arrived. the taiaha is a nice heavy hard wood, surprisingly weighty compared to the other slightly shorter taiaha which is a NZ evergreen wood. this one just reaches the bottom of my chin, which i understand is about the right length for me. oiled finish, not lacquered. 1 old wormhole that goes all the way thru & a couple shallow holes about 2mm deep. a number of dents from parrying as noted earlier. ill give it a few drinks of boiled linseed (flax) oil. the newish patu has a clear urethane coating (would have preferred an oil finish), nice grain, couple shrinkage cracks near what look like knots in the wood that do not go all the way thru.. coating doesn't go all the way thru the lanyard hole which is fairly roughly bored. very sharp edges on the 'blade', 245 gm. 12" x 4" x 3/4". gave it a braided leather lanyard as a present. this one is not plastic.

7th November 2014, 06:55 PM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,259	mine was listed as 'mid 20th c. the evergreen one i know is recent (21st c.) and probably this year's model. 19c & earlier stuff if real goes for more than i can afford. vintage, not so bad.