Breastplate – Mana, Pride, Motherhood

This was made for a man to give to his woman to commemorate their wedding.

The three korus are to represent three significant attributes and strengths. They are Mana, Pride, and Motherhood.

It is made from Marsden Flower Jade, or Putiputi. The yellow and gold coloring is where the ‘flower’ part of the name comes from. It is caused by oxygen getting into the pounamu through fractures and oxidizing it similar to the rind or outer edge, then the fractures have healed to make themselves carvable. It is a rare pounamu and is mostly found only in the Marsden area.

You can see the steps here to create this piece. Starting from a rough cut out to smoothing and finding the main shape. Then the carving and sanding of the koru.