Māori, North Island, New Zealand
Circa 1840
Wood
Height: 58 in. (147 cm)
Provenance: Philip Murphy, London; UK private collection
The taurapa is the elaborately carved stern piece of the waka taua, or Māori war canoe, standing vertically at the vessel's stern and serving as both a structural and deeply ceremonial element of the canoe. Canoe-makers held a position of high prestige within Māori society, their technical skill understood as inseparable from ritual knowledge and spiritual authority. Waka taua were imbued with spiritual significance throughout their construction and use, serving as vessels for the transportation of warriors over great distances.
The carvings on this taurapa narrate the journey of Tāne, god of forests, ascending the twelve heavens to obtain the three baskets of knowledge — kete tuauri, kete tūātea, and kete aronui — while his elder brother Whiro attempts to disrupt the ascent. At the base sits the ancestral figure puhi-kai-ariki, who oversees the crew, with two curved rib-like forms extending upward representing the dual life principles of ira-atua and ira-tangata. The dominant figure of the manaia, an avian creature grappling with these vertical forms, symbolically engages the opposing forces of war and peace.
The surrounding spiral system, known as pitau, represents the unfurling black tree fern and symbolizes the beginning of life, rendered here in deeply undercut openwork carving across the full length of the panel. When in use, taurapa were ornamented with trailing kereru pigeon feather streamers relating symbolically to Tāwhirimatea, god of wind, and Tangaroa, god of the sea. The carving retains its characteristic dark patina, the surface detail crisp and well-preserved throughout.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Māori, North Island, New Zealand
Circa 1840
Wood
Height: 58 in. (147 cm)
Provenance: Philip Murphy, London; UK private collection
The taurapa is the elaborately carved stern piece of the waka taua, or Māori war canoe, standing vertically at the vessel's stern and serving as both a structural and deeply ceremonial element of the canoe. Canoe-makers held a position of high prestige within Māori society, their technical skill understood as inseparable from ritual knowledge and spiritual authority. Waka taua were imbued with spiritual significance throughout their construction and use, serving as vessels for the transportation of warriors over great distances.
The carvings on this taurapa narrate the journey of Tāne, god of forests, ascending the twelve heavens to obtain the three baskets of knowledge — kete tuauri, kete tūātea, and kete aronui — while his elder brother Whiro attempts to disrupt the ascent. At the base sits the ancestral figure puhi-kai-ariki, who oversees the crew, with two curved rib-like forms extending upward representing the dual life principles of ira-atua and ira-tangata. The dominant figure of the manaia, an avian creature grappling with these vertical forms, symbolically engages the opposing forces of war and peace.
The surrounding spiral system, known as pitau, represents the unfurling black tree fern and symbolizes the beginning of life, rendered here in deeply undercut openwork carving across the full length of the panel. When in use, taurapa were ornamented with trailing kereru pigeon feather streamers relating symbolically to Tāwhirimatea, god of wind, and Tangaroa, god of the sea. The carving retains its characteristic dark patina, the surface detail crisp and well-preserved throughout.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
