Early 20th C. Maori Carved Wood Koauau Flute - Bird Form with Nacre Inlay

Oceania, New Zealand, Maori culture. A ductless wooden flute carved along its length into the sinuous form of a bird, its hooked beak and gripping talons emerging from a dense field of spiral and notched relief in the classic Maori idiom. Inlaid nacre shell catches the light at the eyes, and three fingerholes pierce the pipe, open at both ends, to be sounded by directing breath across the sharp edge of the upper aperture. A twist of woven flax cord threaded with a single white bead allows the koauau to be worn close at the neck. This is a personal instrument of intimate register, its breathy voice ranging across the sounds heard in end-blown flutes the world over, prized less for volume than for the seductive melody it could carry between players and listeners. The koauau occupied a tender place in Maori musical life. Renowned as an instrument of courtship, its player was said to hold sway over the affections of the listener, a power immortalized in the story of Tutanekai, whose koauau melody drew Hinemoa to swim across Lake Rotorua to reach him. Such flutes were fashioned from wood or bone; bird bone from the albatross or the extinct moa was favored, while flutes of human bone carried associations with chiefly rank and the reciprocal obligations of utu. Instruments like this one were bound up with the romantic rituals of village life across New Zealand. Parts from certain animal species including nacre shell may require an additional license upon import into another country due to legislation relating to endangered species and environmental conservation. If you are not sure whether CITES rules apply to your item, please see the CITES Appendices. Item # 204001

Estimate:£452.13

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