Nephrite Jade in New Zealand

Formation of New Zealand Nephrite Jade

Formed by intensive heat and pressure some 10km deep within the earth under the Southern Alps, New Zealand nephrite jade (also known as Pounamu and Greenstone) was forced to the surface by the movement of Pacific and Australian Tectonic Plates over many thousands of years.

Jade lenses would have been swept down from the mountains beneath glaciers and carried by huge ice sheets in ancient times ending up deposited in rivers. This ‘alluvial float’ jade is usually discovered on or near the coast, often after heavy rain floods the mountainous rivers and streams, loosening boulders and carrying them towards the sea.

With a specific gravity of three, Poumanu boulders become a third lighter in water and are more easily moved.

History of Nephrite Jade use in New Zealand

New Zealanders have long referred to New Zealand Nephrite Jade as Greenstone, most likely from the observation by 18^th Century English explorer Captain James Cook of a “Green, talc-like stone of the nephrite species” used by the indigenous Maori people for tools, weapons and ornaments. In recent years the Maori name for New Zealand Nephrite jade, Pounamu, has come into widespread use and has largely superseded the word greenstone. Though the jade fields here are small, some of the finest nephrite jade in the world is to be found in New Zealand.

There is no clear evidence to suggest when Maori discovered and began using pounamu; however archaeological sites as early as the 13^th Century appear to have nephrite jade associated with them. Tools came first, and by 1500 AD the use of nephrite jade for items of adornment was well established. During the so called Classic Maori period (1500 AD to 1800 AD) pounamu stimulated the development of Maori art heritage.

Although occasional large chunks may have been extracted from protrusions in mountainsides, old-time Maori never mined nephrite jade.

Most of what they used for tools, weapons and personal ornamentation would have been found as boulders, rocks and pebbles in rivers, streams and on beaches after being washed from the Southern Alps by the many swift-flowing rivers; some, like the Taramakau, Arahura and their tributaries, were more productive than others.

Sourcing New Zealand Nephrite Today

In the late 90s the New Zealand government vested ownership of pounamu to the South Island Maori tribe of Ngai Tahu when it passed the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997. Under the Waitangi Tribunal settlement, ownership of all pounamu occurring in its natural state in Ngai Tahu’s tribal area, including the coastline, was vested in Ngai Tahu.

Since 1997 no significant source of New Zealand nephrite jade has been available due to the fact that Ngai Tahu have not yet begun mining the resource nor made any existing stocks available for sale to businesses or carvers dependent on jade for a living.

Cultural Views

Along with serpentine and other closely related stones of the amphiloe group of minerals, pounamu is known as the God Stone of the Maori people, and modern Maori who wish to give a gift of pounamu will always seek out New Zealand nephrite. Maori didn’t imbue pounamu (New Zealand nephrite jade) with healing properties but certainly embraced it as a talisman and believed in the spiritual power of jade to evoke strength and prosperity, to protect, to express love and kinship, and to depict growth and harmony.

Hei tiki (also known as tiki) carved from pounamu were considered the most valuable personal adornment items. Said to be the representation of the first man, hei tiki were almost exclusively worn by women. Some sources suggest they were worn around the neck as a protection whilst other accounts say they were fertility symbols or in remembrance of their decreased owner(s). Hei tikis were often buried with their owners but were exhumed along with bones at a later date and passed onto the living; apparently this increased the mana (prestige) and spiritual value of the hei tiki.

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Design Influences

Although many of today’s modern carving designs are based on traditional Maori symbols, young New Zealand carvers, including John Sheehan’s three sons, continue to look for new ways forward.

Joe’s body of work includes using jade to represent everyday objects like ballpoint pens, pliers and light bulbs. One of his recent ‘installation art’ projects utilised thinly sliced squares of jade loaded into an old-style 35mm slide projector carousel, which projected the resultant image(s) onto a wall.

John Junior also uses a contemporary design base to interweave allusions to his Celtic heritage into his work whilst young Jacob is keen to design contemporary forms that appeal to his peer group. Click here to look at Mountain Jade’s in-house carver profiles.