Hei-tiki are one of the most notable examples of Maori pounamu craft. In Maori culture, Tiki was the name given to the first created man, and hei means suspended. Carved from the precious pounamu, hei-tiki were worn round the neck close to the throat. Embodying the spirits of ancestors, they were a powerful mark of the status of the wearer.

In August 1771, James Cook was granted a one-hour audience by George III after his return from his first expedition to the Pacific. It was probably at this meeting that Cook presented the king with this precious ornament, which the explorer had received from the Maori of Queen Charlotte Sound in South Island, New Zealand.