Wheku
by Thomas Hansen
This is a hand carved Wheku is carved from native kauri wood by Thomas Hansen. It features a full face moko (Māori tattoo) embellished with pāua shell eyes.
The wheku is a carved representation of a human face - commonly seen as a koruru, the head of an ancestor, depicted at the gable of a wharenui, often representing the ancestor after which the house is named.
Art has been a constant theme throughout Thomas’s life. He completed his first carving at 8 years of age, with some chisels given to him by his grandmother. And later received his first formal training in the art of Māori carving under the guidance of Dennis Conway, head carver and tutor at Ōrākei Marae, Auckland. After settling in a small town in Tauranga, he has continued with carving, studying under various carvers and researching different styles.
Size: 12.5 x 9 x 2.5cm
Weight: 110g
Made in New Zealand
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