Pendant

Art Historical Context

This delicate pendant, carved from lustrous dark-green nephrite in 19th-century Zealand, showcases the masterful craftsmanship of Maori artisans. Measuring a modest 1⅝ inches high, ⅝ inch wide, and just ¼ inch deep, its petite scale made it ideal for personal adornment, suspended from a neck cord as a treasured heirloom. In Maori culture, nephrite—known as *pounamu* or greenstone—was revered as a *taonga* (treasure) sourced from sacred South Island riverbeds. These pendants often embodied spiritual protection, ancestral connections, and social status, carved using traditional techniques like ...