Matau (fishhook)

This matau (fishhook) is made from a single piece of pearlshell fashioned into a circular hook shape with a barb. A short length of fibre cord is attached to the shank.

Pearlshell used to make this hook and forms of trolling lures is more often assocxiated with the atolls of the Northern Cook Islands such as Manihiki, Rakahanga, Penrhyn and Pukapuka. However, pearlshell hooks and lures may have travelled to the Southern Cook Islands as trade items for fishing and for sale to Europeans as curios.