Research Catalog

Title

Maori : art and culture / edited by D.C. Starzecka ; contributors, Janet Davidson ... [et al.].

Publication

London : Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press, 1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Davidson, Janet M.
• Starzecka, D. C.
• Davidson, Janet, 1941-
• British Museum. Trustees

Description

168 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. (some col.); 28 cm.

Summary

"Among all the cultures of the Pacific region, that of the Maori stands out in its rich repertoire of highly-refined and complex arts. Historically, art has pervaded the whole Maori way of life, and in this century there has been a conscious effort to preserve - or revive - the traditional skills of weaving and fibre arts, painting, latticework, carving, tattoo, chant and oratory, as well as Maori language and customs. The spiritual dimension of Maori arts is strongly felt: the taonga, or art treasures, of the Maori are not only objects of beauty but of great spiritual and ancestral power." "The essays discuss in detail wood-carving, cloak-making and other fibre arts, tattoo, jewellery, musical instruments and weapons. A final chapter offers a history of the significant Maori collection in the British Museum." "Alongside the art, the history and culture of the Maori are also discussed, from the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers to the coming of the Europeans in the late eighteenth century, and the subsequent struggles and achievements of the Maori people. The religion, ritual and social and political organisation of the Maori tribes before and after European contact are discussed, and Maori scholars offer their own perspective on their history, and on what it means to be a Maori in twentieth century New Zealand."--BOOK JACKET.

Alternative Title

Maori.

Subject

• Māori (New Zealand people)
• Art, Māori
• Art objects, Māori

Genre/Form

• History
• History.

Note

• Spine title: Maori.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-165) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Maori prehistory / Janet Davidson -- Maori : people and culture / Ngahuia Te Awekotuku -- Maori society today : welcome to our world / A.T. Hakiwai -- Wood carving / Roger Neich -- The fibre arts / Mick Prendergast -- The Maori collections in the British Museum / D.C. Starzecka.

ISBN

0714125245 (pbk) :

LCCN

gb^97037683^

OCLC

• 36990871
• SCSB-10812550

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library