Treasure Box (wakahuia) · WRSTL PLACE

Title: Treasure Box (wakahuia)
Description: This object was created to hold the feathers of the huia bird which is now extinct. This object also stored other personal items and is a cherished object in Maori culture. The object has carved male and female ancestral figures.
Semester: Spring 2026
Subject: Indigenous Art; Saint Louis Art Museum; Morton D. May; Maori; Treasure box
Temporal Coverage: early 19th century
Spatial Coverage: New Zealand (Aotearoa)
Language: The information about the object is in English
Medium: The object is made out of wood, shell, and greenstone
Source: Saint Louis Art Museum; https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/7755/
Is Part Of: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; Morton D. May
Identifier: 203:1975, a, b
Provenance: 1975
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased at auction of Oceanic Art at Sotheby and Co., London, March 29, 1965, lot no. 96; 1975
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May
Explanation of Omeka Map Location: This item originated in New Zealand (Aotearoa)