Maori Mere pounamu

kronckew · 23rd July 2014, 07:20 PM

oops - i just noticed that my first post said 'est. 3-40 years'.

that should have read '30-40'

not that it matters much. probably was more accurate that way

post office's 'parcel force' notified me that my taiaha arrives tomorrow! after charging me a small fortune in VAT, duty, and a customs handling fee...
ive bought clubs in the UK for less

(p.s.-ausjulius, i've sent you a PM.)

kronckew · 24th July 2014, 11:31 AM

taiaha arrived. 1.45 meters of kiln dried Kauri wood.carved both sides, 4 abalone 'eyes' on spear end carving. feathers attached by a red string winding. 490 grams.from Kakahu Taonga Aotearoa

kronckew · 4th November 2014, 10:27 PM

just acquired a 'vintage' (mid 20th c.?) taiaha. this one is 2.5 in. longer than the one just above. also 60% heavier (949 gm) than the other's 600 gm. plain blade, fibre skirt rather than feathers, marks on blade from parry impacts, end have some wear from abrasion. blade end is sharper on this one, rather than squared off & flat like the other. couple of old worm holes. this appears to be more of a useable one than a display one. should arrive in a few days.

also found a patu that i bought solely for the wood, it's apparently nz purirri wood, a very dense & heavier than water wood. looks beautiful. probably not very old, but whattheheck. no lanyard, but looks like some wear at the lanyard hole. age & size not listed by vendor. ?.

kronckew · 7th November 2014, 03:34 PM

tiaha & patu have arrived. the taiaha is a nice heavy hard wood, surprisingly weighty compared to the other slightly shorter taiaha which is a NZ evergreen wood. this one just reaches the bottom of my chin, which i understand is about the right length for me.

oiled finish, not lacquered. 1 old wormhole that goes all the way thru & a couple shallow holes about 2mm deep. a number of dents from parrying as noted earlier. ill give it a few drinks of boiled linseed (flax) oil.

the newish patu has a clear urethane coating (would have preferred an oil finish), nice grain, couple shrinkage cracks near what look like knots in the wood that do not go all the way thru.. coating doesn't go all the way thru the lanyard hole which is fairly roughly bored. very sharp edges on the 'blade', 245 gm. 12" x 4" x 3/4". gave it a braided leather lanyard as a present. this one is not plastic.

fireiceviper · 7th November 2014, 04:10 PM

kronckew i have a taiaha similar to yours , i also believe it is 20th century ( i cant say early mid or late)

Everything i have seen posted here to me looks mid to late 20th century or even newer...

A good resource is the tepapa museum archive located here :
for taiaha:
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...iaha&scope=all
for mere:
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...magesOnly=true

Another recent mere i esquired about can be found here
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...b-patu-pounamu
This one to me actually doesn't look that bad, but its definitely a tourist or recent made piece, the size gives most of them away... oh and ignore the possible 19th century ... its not but the price was ok in my opinion.

I've included some pictures of my taiaha (156 cm)

kronckew · 7th November 2014, 05:55 PM

mine was listed as 'mid 20th c.

the evergreen one i know is recent (21st c.) and probably this year's model.

19c & earlier stuff if real goes for more than i can afford. vintage, not so bad.

24th July 2014, 11:31 AM	#2
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,238	taiaha arrived. 1.45 meters of kiln dried Kauri wood.carved both sides, 4 abalone 'eyes' on spear end carving. feathers attached by a red string winding. 490 grams.from Kakahu Taonga Aotearoa Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 24th July 2014 at 02:41 PM.

4th November 2014, 10:27 PM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,238	just acquired a 'vintage' (mid 20th c.?) taiaha. this one is 2.5 in. longer than the one just above. also 60% heavier (949 gm) than the other's 600 gm. plain blade, fibre skirt rather than feathers, marks on blade from parry impacts, end have some wear from abrasion. blade end is sharper on this one, rather than squared off & flat like the other. couple of old worm holes. this appears to be more of a useable one than a display one. should arrive in a few days. also found a patu that i bought solely for the wood, it's apparently nz purirri wood, a very dense & heavier than water wood. looks beautiful. probably not very old, but whattheheck. no lanyard, but looks like some wear at the lanyard hole. age & size not listed by vendor. ?. Attached Images

7th November 2014, 04:10 PM	#5
fireiceviper Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 87	kronckew i have a taiaha similar to yours , i also believe it is 20th century ( i cant say early mid or late) Everything i have seen posted here to me looks mid to late 20th century or even newer... A good resource is the tepapa museum archive located here : for taiaha: http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...iaha&scope=all for mere: http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/se...magesOnly=true Another recent mere i esquired about can be found here http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...b-patu-pounamu This one to me actually doesn't look that bad, but its definitely a tourist or recent made piece, the size gives most of them away... oh and ignore the possible 19th century ... its not but the price was ok in my opinion. I've included some pictures of my taiaha (156 cm) Attached Images

23rd July 2014, 07:20 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,238	oops - i just noticed that my first post said 'est. 3-40 years'. that should have read '30-40' not that it matters much. probably was more accurate that way post office's 'parcel force' notified me that my taiaha arrives tomorrow! after charging me a small fortune in VAT, duty, and a customs handling fee... ive bought clubs in the UK for less (p.s.-ausjulius, i've sent you a PM.)

7th November 2014, 03:34 PM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,238	tiaha & patu have arrived. the taiaha is a nice heavy hard wood, surprisingly weighty compared to the other slightly shorter taiaha which is a NZ evergreen wood. this one just reaches the bottom of my chin, which i understand is about the right length for me. oiled finish, not lacquered. 1 old wormhole that goes all the way thru & a couple shallow holes about 2mm deep. a number of dents from parrying as noted earlier. ill give it a few drinks of boiled linseed (flax) oil. the newish patu has a clear urethane coating (would have preferred an oil finish), nice grain, couple shrinkage cracks near what look like knots in the wood that do not go all the way thru.. coating doesn't go all the way thru the lanyard hole which is fairly roughly bored. very sharp edges on the 'blade', 245 gm. 12" x 4" x 3/4". gave it a braided leather lanyard as a present. this one is not plastic.

7th November 2014, 05:55 PM	#6
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,238	mine was listed as 'mid 20th c. the evergreen one i know is recent (21st c.) and probably this year's model. 19c & earlier stuff if real goes for more than i can afford. vintage, not so bad.