Hafted adze, toki pou tangata, of wood and nephrite, from New Zealand; part of the Forster collection (Forster 109; 1886.1.1159)

Hafted adze, toki poutangata. The hewing end of the greenstone blade has been cut to a bevelled edge, while the butt end has been shaped to accommodate the toe of the wooden haft. A perforation has been drilled at this end to allow the New Zealand flax fibre binding to pass through. The NZ flax fibres are used both as a relatively unprocessed binding material, and as a plaited cord. The flat fibres here are bound around the blade to the foot of the handle with a turn of cord running between the butt of the adze and the foot. The plaited cord, however, belongs to a different system of lashing and is not attached in any way to the flat fibres. Rather, the plaited cord runs through a hole in the foot of the handle that corresponds with the perforation in the adze. The cord is then passed through the nephrite from opposite directions and tied off at the top. The handle of the adze is of wood, carved with spiral forms (raru) and rauponga, bands of dog's tooth notches bordered with parallel grooves. There are two abstracted figures present, one on the heel and one on the foot of the adze, carved and with eyes of paua shell, Haliotis sp

• Museum database entry.