Maori Pounamu Toki (Adze), New Zealand

3D Model

This Pounamu Toki (nephrite jade or greenstone adze) from the South Island of New Zealand was donated to Stromness Museum in the late 19th or early 20th century by an Orcadian living in Twatt, West Mainland. It is a mystery how this artefact came to be in Orkney, but in the 19th century Orcadians were great seafarers and many travelled to the South Seas on whaling ships.

The grooves along the side of this adze provide an insight into how this extremely hard material was cut and shaped. A great deal of time was expended on the surface finish and a mirror polish has been achieved over most of the surface.

Model by Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark for a Leverhulme Trust funded project ‘Working stone, making communities: technology and identity on prehistoric Orkney’.

L:146mm, B:54mm, T:15mm.

Stromness Museum. E169.