Hand club (Mere pounamu)

Unknown

19th century · Greenstone · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

One of the principal weapons of M¯aori warriors was the patu, a teardrop-shaped hand club used to strike a thrusting or slicing blow to an enemy. When not in use, patu were often worn suspended from the wrist by a fiber loop or thrust into a belt as symbols of martial prowess. The most prized examples, called mere pounamu, were made from greenstone (pounamu), a type of jade. Laboriously ground and polished, mere pounamu were created for the chiefly elite and passed down within families as heirlooms. Like other M¯aori objects, clubs often bore individual names and were prized as trophies in war. Mere pounamu were considered so prestigious and supernaturally powerful that some chiefs, captured in battle, reportedly handed the clubs to their enemies and requested to be slain with them rather than with ordinary weapons.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Greenstone

Culture

Maori people

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979