Agate mortar and pestle

Overview

Te Papa’s GH006439 pairs a small eight-sided agate mortar with a short agate grinding tip mounted in a wooden handle and metal fitting. The museum dates the unknown maker’s set to around 1890.

It later belonged to Mayer & Kean, jewellery makers operating in Wellington from 1912. Polished agate suits grinding high-purity powders; the museum suggests that this set probably prepared enamel powders, linking its tentative use to the company’s jewellery production.

History & identity

Maker unknown.

Sources & representation

Catalogue and photograph.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   GH006439

   Te Papa

Language & cultural connections

Source-supported language and cultural connections have not yet been compiled for this profile.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Museum catalogueMortar and pestleResearch access: 2026-10-18

Image credits

AI material interpretation.

Workshop-tool study only.