Carved Deer Antler Maori Manaia Protector Pendant
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DEER01
This Carved Deer Antler ( "Button") Pendant and surround is an amazing piece of carving, carved as it is in the shape of a Maori Manaia, a mythical protector.
The pendant is handcarved, and no animal has been harmed in order for the carving to be produced.
New Zealand has a large deer farming industry. Unlike horns, deer antlers are shed each year and new ones grow each Spring. These antlers grow from a "bud", and take 4 months to reach full size. When the antlers are harvested the remaining portion is called a "button" or "coronet", and that is shed naturally leaving the bud to produce a new, larger set of antlers for the next breeding season.
These buttons are collected and it is within this button that a carving is created. This particular carving is an important Maori mythological being, the Manaia. The Manaia is a birdlike creature, believed to be a communicator between the living and the spiritual world, a carrier of supernatural powers, and a guardian spirit for man. The Manaia acts as a provider and protector over sky, earth and sea.
Each button is unique, with the pendant measuring approximately 1 3/4" long. It comes with a separate cord to hang it from, or it makes a nice presentation piece in its special black box. Inside the box is a note explaining the pendant's origins.
The pendant is handcarved, and no animal has been harmed in order for the carving to be produced.
New Zealand has a large deer farming industry. Unlike horns, deer antlers are shed each year and new ones grow each Spring. These antlers grow from a "bud", and take 4 months to reach full size. When the antlers are harvested the remaining portion is called a "button" or "coronet", and that is shed naturally leaving the bud to produce a new, larger set of antlers for the next breeding season.
These buttons are collected and it is within this button that a carving is created. This particular carving is an important Maori mythological being, the Manaia. The Manaia is a birdlike creature, believed to be a communicator between the living and the spiritual world, a carrier of supernatural powers, and a guardian spirit for man. The Manaia acts as a provider and protector over sky, earth and sea.
Each button is unique, with the pendant measuring approximately 1 3/4" long. It comes with a separate cord to hang it from, or it makes a nice presentation piece in its special black box. Inside the box is a note explaining the pendant's origins.
