Nga Hau E Wha (The Four Winds) Sculpture
This custom made sculpture was designed for a family with four children. Sitting on a base of native Rimu, the design is based on Tāwhirimātea (te atua ka po/blind) and Ngā Hau E Whā (the four winds).
Hauraki-North
Hauāuru-West
Hauwaho-East
Hautonga-South
Made from four individual pieces, each piece representing one of four children. When put together, these unite as one, signifying the connection to their family land. So no matter where they go, they will always be connected.
About the stone
This is the stone, which was carefully selected for the Nga Hau E Wha Sculpture. While cutting Pounamu, water is used to keep the stone from heating up and prevent the dust from being inhaled. Each slab takes 20-30 minutes to cut.
Each of the four slabs took a week each to carve, with the entire piece taking a total of 4 weeks to complete. Our Pounamu is Nephrite which, on the Mohs scale is recorded to be a 6.0 in hardness.
Due to the hardness of Nephrite, diamond-impregnanted tools must be used to carve Pounamu.