KIWI STONE
Carvings in New Zealand Stone
NEPHRITE JADE
The most sought-after stone for carving is nephrite jade, in New Zealand called greenstone or 'pounamu'. It is hard and formed from closely felted fibres that enable high lustre finishes to be achieved (the heat of polishing actually melts the surface fibres to create an almost glass-like surface.)
In New Zealand there are many beautiful forms of nephrite named for the unique appearance- and the Maori named them for the similarity to things in nature.
BOWENITE
Bowenite isn't a jade but a type of serpentine, but it is still very popular as a semi-precious carving stone. Also named as 'pounamu' it typically ranges in colour from dark green to light olive green, and in shades approaching yellow.
Bowenite was also widely used by the Maori for tools, weapons and adornments
'Pounamu' is the term Maori have for 'greenstone' but it has such a range of forms that it has many other names. Above are just 4 types of 'pounamu', inanga, kokopu, kahurangi and kawakawa. Inanga refers to stone that looks very similar to the tiny, translucent fish that abounds on The Coast. Kokopu is a stone that is similar in colour to the kokopu or native trout with a lovely pale green with spots. Kahurangi refers to the clear sky and this stone is generally clean green with little in the way of inclusions or markings. Kawakawa is a native tree, the pepper tree and the stone replicates the colouring of medium to dark green.
A Bit About POUNAMU
TANGIWAI
Maori considered Tangiwai a variety of greenstone, they knew of its difference from the various types of nephrite largely because of its high level of translucence.
There were many other names for varieties of pounamu (including tribal variations) based on shade and hue. Tangiwai can range in color from olive-green to bluish-green.