IJ
- Mar 20, 2016

Sidestep: The Mauku artifact

In yesterday's note we briefly mentioned an artifact (International spelling) none of you reading this would have known about previosuly. It is an Asian styled figurine found at Mauku, 56km's south of Auckland City. There appeared to be nothing available about that item other than a brief reference from an old newspaper of 1919. It took some hunting but I finally found Elsdon Best's article. Here is that one page article in it's entirety which I have photographed and typed out...

From the Library of Sir Kingi Matutaera Ihaka 1921-1993

The New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology

Vol II, No.2 p.77 (1919)

NOTE ON A CURIOIUS STEATITE FIGURINE FOUND AT MAUKU, AUCKLAND

By E. Best, Dominion Museum

The illustration given is that of a small figurine of steatite found under a singular and interesting circumstance at Mauku, near Auckland. The lands surrounding the place of discovery have been uninhabited since the arrival of the European until twenty years ago (1899), and since then merely occupied by farm employees: nor have any of these lands been ploughed. In pre-European times however, natives occupied the place, as shown by the remains of old settlements. Two of these old pa are situated about 250 yards (273 m) apart, and between these, cattle have worn a track through the surface soil and well down into the underlying clay, such process being assisted by the flow of storm-waters. The figurine was found embedded in the stiff clay at the bottom of this worn, rut-like track, face downward, and it’s back flush with the surface. Some beast had evidently trodden on it and had broken a piece off the lower part of the figure, the broken piece being pulverized. Clay still adheres to the crevices of this singular object.

Of so soft a nature is the pink-coloured statue of which the figurine is composed, that it is clear that it could have been trampled down into the stiff clay subsoil by any heavy-bodied creature: thus the questions arise (1) How did it get there and (2) How long had it lain there? To these queries presumably no satisfactory answer can ever be returned, and out figurine must be placed in the same category as the Tamil bell described in vol. 4 of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. The figurine is undoubtedly Oriental in design and workmanship. It reminds one of representations of the Manchus in old works. A work on the clay figurines of China contains no illustration resembling it. This object is 2 5/8 in. in height and 1 3/8 in. wide at its broadest part (about the size of the small finger of an adult). The figure seems to be sitting in a sitting position. There is no hole for suspension. It is no rude Nampa image, but a carefully executed, though having the grotesque aspect so common in Oriental designs. Some from of turban-like head-dress is depicted, also a loose cloak or wide sleeved garment. The round face shows a wide, short nose. The hands clasp some long object of cylindrical form, the upper end of which seems to show something protruding, and this object bears two transverse serrated designs. The head-dress shows a wide pendant flap at the back. Altogether, this snub-nosed Tartar-looking figure represents an interesting discovery when the conditions of that discovery are known.

Copy of original article / Old soapstone Oriental artifact / Older soapstone Oriental artifact

(Click to enlarge)

Other examples

This find does not prove that a Chinese junk arrived in NZ while the Maori lived here. But it is true that anything Maori feared, held sacred, or did not understand, was buried. So that fact suggest the possibility, but it does not prove it. Whatever side you are on about the Chinese connection, you have to admit this artefact is strange, unusual and most definitely Oriental. It's design suggests it comes from the 13-15th century but that does not prove it does. One day another figurine exactly like it will surface somewhere else in the world and we will have more to say.

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POST SCRIPT: (10th April 16)

At last I've found one more picture. It is of the actual artefact in question, and is in the Auckland Museum. They state it is from the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), that it is Chinese, and of soapstone. 35.6mm in height. NO MENTION is made of the fact this item, (as proven above), was found in Mauku in a place previously inhabited by Maori at a time no Chinese had visited the area. This items could be as old as 350 years (100 years before Europeans arrived). We have now asked the Museum if they even know of the connection - keep in the mind that I only found of it's existence through a very obscure reference and I had to hunt down the physical article to read and photograph it.