A New Zealand greenstone hand club/patu (mere pounamu), of flat teardrop-shape, with drilled suspension hole, length 10.4cm. £100-£200

The patu, a teardrop-shaped hand club was used by the Maori warriers for close combat fighting. When not in use, the patu were often worn suspended from the wrist or thrust into a belt. The most prized examples called ‘mere pounamu’ were made from greenstone (pounamu), a type of jade. Pounamu is regarded as a stone scared to the gods by the Maori of New Zealand.



For a similar example at The Met, New York, see Accession number: 1979.206.1459.