Mau kaki (shark tooth necklace)

item details

NameMau kaki (shark tooth necklace)

ProductionUnknown; carver; 1200-1500; Coromandel Peninsula

Classificationpendants, pectorals, necklaces

Materialstooth

Techniquesgrinding

DimensionsOverall: 4.39mm (width), 32mm (height), 11mm (length), 1.3g (weight)

Registration NumberME015858/1

Credit lineAcquisition details/history unknown. Found in collection, date unknown

Overview

This rare shark-tooth necklace comprises seven individual pieces. All seven are made from the teeth of the great white shark (Cacharodon carcharias), and have been perforated for suspension in a necklace form. The six smaller pieces have been modified and reshaped.

Necklaces in Polynesia
Māori made necklaces from a variety of materials, including whale and marine mammal ivory, shark teeth and imitation shark teeth (often made from shell), dog teeth and bone, bird bone, human teeth and bone, and stone. Necklaces were popular forms of personal adornment throughout Polynesia - particularly reel-shaped and shark-tooth necklaces. These forms came to New Zealand via the first East Polynesian settlers.

While Māori have probably worn necklaces throughout their history, the adornment is especially associated with earlier archaeological sites dating from 1100 to 1500. However, examples have been located in sites dating from 1600 to 1700. As a distinct indigenous culture developed in New Zealand, the East Polynesian forms slowly gave way to individual pendants.