Ten

Nine tiny pāua shells arranged around the circumference of a New Zealand ten cent piece. The ninth shell extending like a frond. Nine and one — making ten.

The coin was found in the tide at Stewart Island/Rakiura. Not new. Not clean. Worn by salt water and time into something richer than currency — a natural patina spreading across its surface, the silver giving way to the particular warmth that only the sea can give metal. The tā moko face at its centre looks out from beneath it all, unhurried, as it has since 1967.

Then nine tiny pāua shells, each one gathered from these same southern shores, arranged one by one around the coin's edge. The ninth shell breaking the circle, reaching outward like a frond, like a flourish. Nine shells. One coin. Ten.

The iridescence of the pāua — blues, greens, purples — plays against the patinated silver. The natural and the made. The found and the arranged. The sea's own finishing work on the coin meeting the artist's hand in the shells around it.

This is Aotearoa in miniature. The currency of this place, reclaimed by its tide, adorned with the jewels of its sea. A piece that makes you look twice — and then again.

Fits beautifully in a study, a living room, or anywhere that appreciates the art of the found.

What you're bringing home:

• Museum-quality, fade-resistant print — every iridescent shell and patinated detail, preserved
• Hand-stretched over solid wood stretcher bars
• 1.25″ thick poly-cotton blend canvas (344 g/m²)
• Mounting brackets included — ready to hang
• A2 — 16″×24″ (40.6 × 61 cm)

Want the original? Hand-signed editions (NZ$360–NZ$900) are available exclusively at our Stewart Island gallery.

Take a little piece of the island home.
Island steady. World ready.

In compliance with the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), this product is manufactured by EASTERLY LIMITED (hello@easterly.kiwi | 6 Petersons Hill Road, 9818, Stewart Island, New Zealand) and represented in the EU by SINDEN VENTURES LIMITED (Markou Evgenikou 11, Mesa Geitonia, 4002, Limassol, Cyprus | gpsr@sindenventures.com). All consumer products meet EU safety standards.