Rabatan te matau. Shank of a fish hook. Cut from te bwaeao (mother of pearl shell) in a narrow, pointed strip slightly elliptic in shape. The rabatan (shank) is intended to be used within a composite fish hook for trolling and would have had a point lashed to it. The pointed end of the rabatan has been lashed with cotton string to attach a looped cotton cord. The other end of the rabatan has serrated edges, with two notches etched into each edge, that would have been used to secure the lashing for the point of the matau (fish hook). The colour of the rabatan (shank) is off-white on its inner surface and bronze or beige on its outer surface. Both are smooth with a high sheen. The edges, which have been ground down, are rougly polished. There is a deep central furrow running from one end to the other on the inner surface of the shank.