North Pacific, Hawaiian Islands, Pre-Contact Period, ca. 14th to 18th century CE. A pair of miniature hand knapped stone adze heads. The first is a gray stone with flattened faces and a tapered butt end. The other blade is a similar size but made of black basalt with a more rounded profile and a stemmed neck. These petite blades would be attached to wooden handles and used as chisels for more delicate and detailed work such as carving idols, furniture, or shaping calabash bowls. The basalt adze heads were the most prized for their strength and ability to hold a sharp edge. Basalt was famously quarried from the Mauna Kea volcano, and the slope has remains of workshops, shrines, and shelters from these quarry workers. Size of larger head: 2.125" L x 0.75" W (5.4 cm x 1.9 cm)

Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection

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#166462

Chips and losses to both blade. The underside of basalt blade is heavily flaked. Nice preservation of forms.