Post #412268 by Toataiaha on Wed, Oct 8, 2008 4:54 AM

The red wax eyes in tiki with are from the 19th cent , the wax that is , some of the tiki may be older .
The wax is letter sealing wax , which if I recall correctly , was used in place of a plant gum/resin that had red ochre added . The name of which escapes me .
It represents 'Ka harare nga karu'
The red membrane on inside of the eyelid,
bleary eyes too.
The wax was used on the rim of the eye , the 'pupil' was a stone stub left in and carved around .

Paua inserts had a hole in them and they jamfitted over the pupil stub , maybe backed up with some gum .
If you look closely at the paua eyes , you will see the serrations around the outer rim .

Where I say 'was' and 'had' , you can read 'do' and 'have' , 'cos they still get done that way .

Were red eyes and paua eyes combined on the same tiki ? I don't know .

All of the above is me going on my memory of what I have been let in on , verification won't go astray ,
'cos after all I'm a tartan Jock , what do I know :lol: