The 2023 exhibition Eye Spy: Curious Stories at MTG Hawke’s Bay included a whalebone heru that challenged the language commonly used to describe Māori decorative art.
The late-19th-century hair comb was attributed to Ngāti Pikiao carver Patoromu Tamatea and made from whalebone with pāua inlay.
Why “ornamental” is not enough
In English-language museum descriptions, a heru may be called an ornamental hair comb.
That wording risks separating visual beauty from cultural purpose.
Māori carving traditions use specific forms including haehae, rauponga and pakaki as parts of a visual language carrying story, ancestry and meaning.
The quality of carving could be expressed through the term nanahu, referring not only to beauty but to execution, presence and the qualities of ihi and wehi.
Patoromu Tamatea’s distinctive carving
The heru contains a central tiki flanked by manaia figures associated with protection.
Its formal pattern reflects Te Arawa carving, while the fine detail and flowing S-shaped lines are characteristic of Patoromu’s work.
The artist lived near Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoma and produced smaller carved objects for a developing tourist market.
He also made larger architectural work, including surviving poutokomanawa.
Patoromu’s life intersected with the New Zealand Wars. He supported the Kīngitanga movement, was held by Te Kooti and later returned to carving after settling near the Tawhakarere stream.
Eye Spy used the heru to demonstrate that a museum object can be misunderstood when translated through inadequate categories.
The work was not merely decorated. Its form, material and imagery carried knowledge about protection, status, artistic mastery and the cultural world in which it was made.