These Maori inspired hook earrings take the traditional New Zealand Maori hook shape and streamline it with wave motif accents, plus a touch of ancient ivory.
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Zealandia founder and lead designer, Jenny Byrne, grew up on the beaches of New Zealand, a nation steeped in its native Maori culture and lore. It is no surprise that these Maori hook earrings are uniquely inspired by Jenny's earliest memories and by the powerful symbolism that the Maori hook has come to hold for so many. In Maori culture, the hook shape, or matuau, represents prosperity thanks to its link to the ocean's abundance. The hook shape is also carried as a talisman for protection in water journeys.
These hook earrings feature an added nod to the aquatic life with their wave motifs rendered across sterling silver detail. The wave motif makes a regular appearance in the Zealandia jewelry line, and it is uniquely suited to this fish hook design.
The centers of these earrings are hand carved from ancient mammoth ivory, which has lain in the earth or permafrost for upwards of 15,000 years. Mammoth ivory takes us back to a time when these wondrous animals still roamed the earth. To hold a piece of mammoth ivory in your hand is to step back in time to a very different earth. This fine material is valued the world over for the quality and touch of history it lends to art works and jewelry.