To'i (hafted adze)

item details

NameTo'i (hafted adze)

ProductionUnknown; circa 1770; Society Islands

Classificationwoodworking tools, adzes

Materialsstone, wood, sennit, shell (plant material)

Materials Summarysennit

Techniqueswoodworking

DimensionsOverall: 205mm (width), 50mm (height), 470mm (length)

Registration NumberFE003007

Credit lineGift of The Imperial Institute, 1955

Overview

This to'i (hafted adze) is from the Society Islands. It consists of a stone adze blade lashed to a wooden handle with plaited sennit (coconut husk fibre) cord. The blade is of a form typical of the eastern Pacific. The shaft is plain and tapers slightly towards the handle. There is an initial lashing of coarse, dark brown sennit and a decorative and partial over-lashing of very finely plaited lighter-coloured sennit. The modified area on the front of the butt extends outside the lashing.

Usage
To'i like this were used for woodworking purposes such as building canoes and carving and shaping wooden bowls and other household items.

Acquisition
This item is part of a collection formerly in the possession of Queen Victoria and given to the Imperial Institute in London, England, by Edward VII. A paper with the collection says '... brought by Captain Cook from Otaheti'. Cook scholar Adrienne Kaeppler thinks it is possible that these items were given by Cook to George III. In 1955, this to'i was gifted to the Dominion Museum (Te Papa's predecessor) as part of an important collection of artefacts once held by the Imperial Institute in London, England.