NEW ZEALAND JADE 



Bjl (l<(ir(if /•'. Kiniz 



Till'- la^^v^t spi'ciiiu'ii of judi' known in any inu-^t-uin in llic world 

 is that in the Anu'rican Musciini. It was found in 1902 and wt'ij;lis 

 thiTO tons, nirasuirs seven feet lonj;' and four feet wide and, in 

 fact, is the hiruest mass of jade, of wliic li we ha\e record, that has excr l)een 

 Itroiiiilit to cixihzed hinds from an\ wli(>re. One of the greatest i)re\i()iisly 

 known is that in the British Museiun and the second hirjjest known ])iece ' 

 was found hy the author in ISO!) at Jorchmsnuihl, Silesia. This piece 

 second in size is now on deposit at the American Museum. 



In New Zeahmd, jade is h)()ked upon as a hicky stone and the conmion 

 saying is that no one sliould h>a\-e Xew Zeahmd without taking away as a, 

 hick piece a hit of "ureen-stone." The earhest xoyai^ers found that the 

 Maoris of .\ew Zeahmd wore ornaments made of stone of two \arieties, the 

 more imi)ortant and \ahial)le of whicli was a \ariety of jack' known as 

 nei)lu"ite. Anionji; the ornaments were charms carved into the shape of 

 flat, grotescjue, seated fiuiu'es, known as hei-tikis. The head of the figure 

 was always tilted o\-cr to one side and much e.xag'gerated, with the eyes 

 excecdinijly large and generally nMidered very bright hy an inlay of l)road 

 circles of a red, shellac-like wa.x, often holding in jjlace broad, hollow circles 

 of green abalone shell, the jade centres which })r()truded through the shell 

 figuring the pupils of the eyes. From this Xew Zealand jade were also 

 made certain Maori axe-shaped inij)lements, drilled at the ui)p(U- end, borne 

 by the chiefs as l)adges of oflice. The one aloft in the right hand of the 

 "Maori wai'rior" has a sharp cutting edge and measures fifteen inches in 

 length. \Vhile these ol)jects were ceremonial axes, they were probably 

 employed on occasion as death-dealing weai)()ns. 



New Zealand jafle has been foimd in largest ((uantities on the west 

 coast of Sf)uth Island at ]\Iilford Soimd, in l)oulders associated with, and 

 presumaldy found in, a rock-matrix of chlorite schist. The boulders appear 

 in the mountain streams and usuall\' range in weight from a few oiniees to 

 fifty or sixty pounds. This jade is generally green; on the outer surface of 

 boulders it has often altered to a brown or yellow-brown siib-traiislucent 

 material. The interior, however, is more or less translucent and occasion- 

 ally of the richest green color as if co\'ered with oil. In com])osition it is 

 a silicate of lime and nuignesia. It is a trifle less hard than (piartz, but 

 from its matted, felt-like structure is of extn^me toughness, thus re(|uiring 



' Described in tlic Catitioguc of Hcl)cr l{. Hi^liop Collcrtion . 2 vols., IM) pj). 



