Patoromu Tamatea was a Maori carver active in the second half of the 19th century. This box was probably made for a visitor to the Rotorua area of New Zealand's North Island, where Tamatea worked. He carved for tourists, European patrons, and local Maori clients. Fewer than twenty works worldwide have been documented as carved by Tamatea. The connected figures on the lid of this box represent Papatuanuku, the earth mother, and Ranginui, the sky father, the primordial parents of the Maori. According to the Maori origin story, their many children were gods who lived in the dark space between their parents' embrace. They eventually succeeded in separating their parents and creating the world. The entire surface of this box has been carved with rauponga designs composed of notches and parallel grooves. Abalone shell (paua) insets have been used in the eyes. The base sits on four round knobs added at a later date, and the interior of the box and its lid are uncarved.