A Very Long Maori ‘Mere Patuki’ A Very Long Maori ‘Mere Patuki’

Object Description

A Very Long Maori ‘Mere Patuki’
Creamy deep colour and patina through use, with mottled staining
Whalebone
New Zealand Maori
Late 18th to Early 19th Century

SIZE: 48cm long – 19 ins long

Object History

Ex Private Belgian collection, purchased through Alex Arthur
Ex Private collection

Object Literature

SEE: ‘The Maori Collections of the British Museum’ Dorota Czarkowska Starzecka, Roger Neich, Mick Prendergrast; plate: 119 ill. 712, 714, 716, 722, and 724

War to the Maori was regarded as a recreation, carried out under firmly established rules using a range of weapons. Maori warriors consequently spent considerable time grooming and training for battle. Their chosen weapons required a very high degree of physical fitness and were only effective when used with great dexterity.
Made from the spatulate section of a whale’s jaw, the blade is known as the ‘rau’, which gave rise to the Maori term for conquest ‘raupatu’, presumably as so many successful battles were fought with this type of blade. Used as a striking weapon, the distal end of the club was thrust straight from the shoulder delivering a blow to the enemy’s temple, or if their hair could be grasped, the ‘patu’ could be driven up under the jaw or ribs.

Object Details