by the immigrants from Hawaiki. He notes how Maori art deteriorated after the white man came to the country. He could remember large tiki being worn by old Maori between 1840 and 1850; after the latter year they practically disappeared. Possibly
Figure 28
the adoption by the natives of European clothing partly accounts for the disuse of native ornaments. Certainly the acquisitiveness of curio hunters hastened their disappearance. Anyhow the best expression of Maori art is a thing of the past; and though countless copies and replicas have been made by lapidaries and jewellers they lack the characteristic touch and skill of the old workers and can never deceive a connoisseur.
A curious instance of the native reverence for their ornaments and their customs is recorded by Angus, who relates that
