116 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



of the Pacific " as corning from the Marquesas. Here we 

 have the same general idea, the central shaft, the human 

 figures at the sides, and the curved anchor -like arms, with 

 heads at the middle of the arms, only the reverse way to 

 those on our specimen. A replica of the head-dress with 

 the projecting spike for a feather plume is seen on the head 

 of a figure on a dancing-stick from New Britain (pi. ccxlv., 

 fig. 2, Edge Partington's Album). 



I may. call attention to the notched characters of the or- 

 namentation, which corresponds to the markings on the 

 specimens figured in "Maori Art" at pi. lvi., figs. 4, 5, and 

 6, and which I there state to have a special character of 

 their own. The specimen figured on pi. xlviii., fig. 5, of 

 "Maori Art" came from the same locality as the specimen 

 under discussion, and has a similar type of face. The small 

 object on pi. xlviii., fig. 3, is slightly notched along the 

 ridge, and may have represented a small mask. 



It is, of course, open to any one to suggest that this 

 specimen is not Maori, and has arrived in New Zealand 

 through the agency of whalers or others, seeing that it is 

 so different from any known Maori ornament or implement. 

 Granting this for the sake of argument, the question still 

 remains, Where did it come from ? It is generally a fairly 

 easy matter for an expert to place a specimen by its charac- 

 ter or workmanship, out, although I have had the pleasure 

 of showing this to several gentlemen of great experience, 

 they do not recognise its native country or use. I trust 

 that by publishing the photographs I may some day hear 

 from some one that they have ascertained its origin and 

 use. I myself think that it is possibly one of the older 

 relics of the Maori race; and, although the use of fans is 

 not known to the Maori of to-day, may it not have been a 

 fan-handle used in sacred rites in the distant past, perchance 

 in the Tihi Manono of some remote Hawaiki ? 



