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Hand Carved Pounamu Taonga Kotiate - by Alex Sands
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Pounamu Kotiate
Handcarved by Alex Sands - Ngunguru Iwi
About Kotiate:
The kotiate was a prized weapon and also used by chiefs when speech-making. It is a curiously shaped weapon noted for the carved notches on the blade. The notches were used in a ripping action. The word kotiate literally means 'to divide, split in two'.
About Pounamu:
No two pieces of pounamu are the same, and every stone is treated with the utmost respect by those who source and carve it.
Renowned for its beauty and strength, the rare stone is highly valued by both Maori and greater New Zealand. While generically known as greenstone or New Zealand jade, pounamu refers to the particular types of hard nephrite jade, found only in southern New Zealand.
