Whakapakoko rakau

This small, well-carved figure features a humanistic face carved with incomplete facial moko (tattoo), a protruding stomach, and a convex body with skeletonised carving between the shoulder blades and upper buttocks.

Carved buttocksThe buttocks are carved in a rape (buttock tattoo) design that is similar to a design drawn in ink pen on paper by Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikaheke (-1896) of Ngäti Rangiwewehi, Te Arawa (Rotorua). The design's quality suggests it is the work of a tohunga (expert craftsman). It would also be an appropriate design for a tohunga to wear