Hoe (paddle)

The blade of this paddle is stained with kōkōwai (red ochre) and painted with strong white linear pītau (fern frond) patterns made from clay pigments. The overall patterning is called kōwhaiwhai, which is the most formalised, highly structured, and non-representational of all traditional Māori painting.

Kōwhaiwhai
Kōwhaiwhai painting has a rich vocabulary of specific names for individual designs, and at least thirty different design names have been recorded. These relate to a perceived similarity between actual plants and animals, such as leaf or body outline, curving red flowers, a bird's beak, or the shape of a particular fish species. In traditional society, kōwhaiwhai designs were applied to many different visual media. Over time they evolved from naturalistic patterns to more geometric designs, but their cultural associations have always remained firmly rooted in the natural environment.

Rarity
Paddles with patterns painted on the blades are very rare in museum collections, and only twenty-one examples have been located worldwide. These range in date from pre-European to late nineteenth century. Most were collected during the early years of European contact, beginning with the voyages of Captain James Cook. Hoe such as this example are thought to have been made primarily for ceremonial use and gift exchange. This particular paddle is believed to have been collected on Cook's first voyage (1768-1771), and has been tentatively identified as the paddle leaning against the taiaha (hand weapon) on the left in the famous portrait Sir Joseph Banks (1771) by the American artist Benjamin West (1738-1820).