Hawaiʻi
18th century
Basalt
Length: 5½ in. (14 cm); Width: 2¼ in. (5.7 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Kailua Kona, Hawaiʻi
The koʻi is the Hawaiian stone adze, a woodworking tool central to pre-contact Hawaiian material culture and used in the construction of canoes, architectural timbers, and carved objects. This example is worked from dense basalt, ground to a smooth cutting edge, with the characteristic drop tang form that allowed the blade to be hafted horizontally in a wooden handle secured with fiber lashing. The piece carries a dark, even surface consistent with age and use.
The blade retains its ground edge and shows wear consistent with functional use rather than ceremonial production. Basalt adzes of this type were made in a range of sizes for different woodworking tasks, from rough felling to detailed shaping, and examples of this length are among the more commonly encountered forms in Hawaiian stone tool collections. The Kailua Kona provenance is consistent with material recovered from the Hawaiʻi Island region.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hawaiʻi
18th century
Basalt
Length: 5½ in. (14 cm); Width: 2¼ in. (5.7 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Kailua Kona, Hawaiʻi
The koʻi is the Hawaiian stone adze, a woodworking tool central to pre-contact Hawaiian material culture and used in the construction of canoes, architectural timbers, and carved objects. This example is worked from dense basalt, ground to a smooth cutting edge, with the characteristic drop tang form that allowed the blade to be hafted horizontally in a wooden handle secured with fiber lashing. The piece carries a dark, even surface consistent with age and use.
The blade retains its ground edge and shows wear consistent with functional use rather than ceremonial production. Basalt adzes of this type were made in a range of sizes for different woodworking tasks, from rough felling to detailed shaping, and examples of this length are among the more commonly encountered forms in Hawaiian stone tool collections. The Kailua Kona provenance is consistent with material recovered from the Hawaiʻi Island region.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
