Surface carved with elaborate human figures ornamented with shell inlay. Cane carved in ornate Maori style. Top of loop handle has 4 circles for shell inlay on each side. Anthropomorphic figure on the back of the handle has 2 shell inlay eyes. Front of loop handle extending down to shaft is human figure with shell inlay eyes (1 missing), shell inlay circles at elbows; face on chest has shell inlay eyes. Partial face under buttocks has shell inlay eyes. Additional partial face below figure's feet has shell inlay eyes. Midsection of shaft below figure/faces carved in stripes of diagonal lines and scallops. Below this are bands of geometric carving with 1 circular piece of shell inlay on either side of the staff. The bottom 24 cms of the shaft has no carving. Shell inlay on handle, elbows, and chest are plain round pieces. The incised holes from which the inlay is missing have additional holes in the center. The eyes of the main figure and the figure at the back of the handle have/had red centers inlaid in the shell. Botton 3 sets of inlay composed of concentric rings: shell on the outside, bone/ivory inside and a hole in the center. The central ring of bone/ivory may be the body of the cane rather than additional separate pieces of inlay.