Maori Taiaha Fighting Staff
A taiaha, Maori fighting staff, long wooden staff, one end elaborately carved in the shape of an head (upoko) with a face on each side whose eyes were originally inlaid with paua (three of the four are lost) and terminating in a poking tongue (arero) in the typical Maori gesture of defiance, carved with rauru spirals. The slender and smooth body provides the grip, the blade on the other end is missing. Fine reddish-brown patina. The taiaha was a 'weapon of authority', mainly used by chiefs, wielded with both hands in a variety of thrusts, parries and feints. Its ornamentation was aimed to impress and distract the enemy with the sparkles of the paua, the tongue issuing forth and often the feathers that would be placed around the neck of the weapon. National registration number: Y21009, length 27.36 in., width 1.77 in.
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- Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.
As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.
Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation.
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