MÄori Legends: The TÄne Pendant
TheĀ TÄneĀ pendant is theĀ latestĀ creation from ourĀ MaoriĀ Legends collection. After we createdĀ Maui, a stunning one-off pendant inspired by the MÄori legend of Maui fishing up the North Island of New Zealand,Ā we knew thereĀ were more stories and additions for this collection.
Introducing theĀ TÄneĀ pendant,Ā inspired by the MÄori Legend ofĀ TÄne.Ā TÄne,Ā god of forests and birds,Ā decided to separate his parents,Ā Papatuanuku, the Earth mother, andĀ Ranginui, the Sky father, with the help of his brothers, the other MÄori demi-gods. Their parents were in a tight embrace and did not want to be parted, but this caused nothing but darkness in the world.
Entirely handmade, not one piece of the pendant has been cast or prototyped. On the underside of the paua is a feature purposely engraved by hand to create the effect of woven flax leaves to further reflect the pendant's aspects of MÄori legend and culture.
The TÄne pendant features a pair of beautifully rough-cut tumble polished sapphires, however, the stars of the show are the hand-sculpted piece of Paua and the natural South Seas rough pearl. Rough cut sapphires show the journey of TÄne and his siblings, and their disagreement with their brother Tawhiri Matea, the god of winds and storms, on separating their parents.
Each piece of the pendant was crafted separately and then solder joined together right at the end. It took thirty-three hours of crafting gold and setting rough cut gemstones to bring this pendant to its beautifully finished glory.
The TÄne Pendant was a finalist in the 2019 Jewellery Design Awards (JDA) under the Pearl Category.
If you are interested in our other MÄori Legends creation, Maui, you can read that storyĀ here.