Tiki Pounamu Sculpture - Inanga Raukaraka Pounamu | by Alex Sands

This beautiful Tiki Sculpture has been hand carved from New Zealand Inanga Raukaraka Pounamu. The Tiki features pāua shell eyes and hangs on a hand braided waxed cotton slip-knot cord, making it wearable as a pendant. The Tiki sits in a brass frame on a wooden stand.

The Tiki is the Māori representation of the human form and one's ancestors. Some believe that Tiki was the first man while others believe that he created the first man.

Alex Sands- Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa English, Scottish and Irish
Raised in New Zealand and for a time in China. It was while in China his love for creating began in soft stone carving. He carved small intricate things with basic tools, files and small chisels. At the age of 12 he was inspired by the jade creations of the world and the pounamu creations of his Māori ancestors.
He was then given the opportunity to learn from one of the master jade carvers at the age of 13, and has since then gained his diploma in Māori wood carving. Alex enjoys using one material to complement another, whether merging stone with bone or simply the colour of the cord used with a pendant. Natural New Zealand materials allow a diverse range of colour, character and use – jewellery, weapons, tools or musical instruments, all changing their intensity with age.


Made in New Zealand