Marquesan wooden crafts are considered among the finest in French Polynesia and part of it is due to high-quality wood that grows in the Marquesan Archipelago. Tangy carves mostly in oceanic rosewood, but also in oceanic walnut, temanu, and sandalwood. All of the mentioned wood is indigenous to our island.
This blog post is about oceanic rosewood that is called “mio” in Marquesan language. The color is pink and it changes depending on what part of our island it is coming from. The piece on the photo is more light in color because it was taken from the valley of Hakaui which is more humid and wet part of the island. Oceanic rosewood that is taken from drier parts of our island - for example Terre Desert - tend to be darker in color.
These hooks, Metau Tupuna (Ancestral hook) and Metau Mana Mana (Magic hook) are the perfect example of a beautiful oceania rosewood collected from Tangy's home valley of Hakaui. Tangy has adorned them with the motifs of his ancestral tribe Komai Kea.
Find more hooks carved in oceanic rosewood in our jewelry collection.