Rauru Tene Waitere, Maori Carving, Colonial History

Tene Waitere (1854-1931) of the Ngati Tarawhai was the most innovative Maori wood carver of his time. His works reached global audiences, decades before the globalization of culture became a fashionable topic. This is the first book about Tene Waitere, with its elegant and powerful photographs documenting great houses and other carvings now dispersed in England, Germany, and various parts of New Zealand. Hinemihi, the carved house featured in one section of this book, sheltered survivors of the Mt. Tarawera volcanic eruption in 1886 before being removed to the park of an English country house. The magnificent His carved Ta Moko panel is one of New Zealand's icons. The travels of Tene Waitere's works tell us something about the interplay between empire and art. The book includes interviews and combined perspectives of his descendants - a leading contemporary carver, a master photographer, and a distinguished anthropologist and historian of Pacific art - making this book unique as a dialogue as well as a revelation of great works of Maori art.