Belonging to the taonga puoro or treasures of music, the purerehua is a Maori musical instrument whose name means butterfly or moth. When swung, these instruments catch the wind and create a sound like fluttering moth wings, which was often used as the background sound behind the playing of other wind instruments like the nguru or putorino. Most were historically made of various woods; but a rare few were made from nephrite jade or bowenite. These were known as purerehua pounamu.
 
This example is crafted from an exquisitely-patterned piece of nephrite jade sourced from the South Westland jade deposits, and measures in at 183mm long, 72mm wide and 7mm thick. It's suspended on a 98cm cord woven from harakeke, which is also known as New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), and it does indeed produce that characteristic light fluttering sound when swung. However, it is equally suitable as just a stunning sculptural statement piece for home or office display.