POUNAMU WAHAIKA

POUNAMU WAHAIKA 

Hand carved for us by Kerry Thompson, POUNAMU WAHAIKA is a spectacular centre piece for your home.

The Waihaka was a traditional weapon used by Māori for close quarter fighting. These were clubs used to parry and strike in close combat - in the hands of a skilled warrior they were lethal.

The wahaika's name comes from the design - 'waha' meaning mouth, and 'ika' meaning fish - this described the gap on one side of the weapon, a little like a fish's mouth!

Needless to say, POUNAMU WAIHAKA is a wonderful traditional weapon - in this form a spectacular sculptural piece. 

POUNAMU WAHAIKA is carved from New Zealand Pounamu - our local nephrite jade. This particular piece is a lovely dark stone through the blade, with paler mint green colours through the handle. Like all pounamu, this has a wonderful feel, and is just lovely to handle and hold. 

WE HAVE ONE PIECE ONLY

The Wahaika as described on the Museum of New Zealand - "Te Papa" - website: https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/104468

A wahaika is a type of hand club that was in common use before the introduction of European technology to New Zealand. Most wahaika were made either from whale bone or wood. The whole blade edge might be used to parry blows or strike an opponent during combat.

Artist: Kerry Thompson

Material: New Zealand Pounamu, Jade. The cord is hand plaited hemp.

Size of Wahaika: 36cm (14.2") long, 11cm (4.3") wide

Size of Stand: 14.5cm (5.7") long, 5.5cm (2.2") wide

Weight of Wahaika: 835 Grams

Weight of Stand: 1.4kg

Total Weight: 2.3 Kilos