Post #384528 by Toataiaha on Wed, Jun 4, 2008 4:10 AM

Maori (NZ) carving has purpose , balance and information to impart .
The design placement of carving , on , and of the work piece itself , are a part of that .
At it's most basic , it is signage.

With these panels above ;
The overall shape of each individual panel has , (to me) , no discernible purpose .
And within that , the works have no balance .
These two (3?) have neither the first nor the second criteria , and therefore seem hard pressed to meet the third .

They may be , at a stretch , practice pieces from NZ that somehow ended up overseas , 'tho most tutors would not , I suspect , let them out of the workshop .

They may be an attempt to emulate Maori whakairo , but they seem to fail in that regard .

One way to identify them , may be to email then to carving schools around the Pacific .
It may be that they are very old works , in a style that is from before the colonial era, and therefore of great value , to the world .

Maybe.:)

In the heart of my soul . I would that I had been born in Celtic lands
But I was born here . a Celt in Maori lands . And my heart is content

[ Edited by: Toataiaha 2008-06-04 04:21 ]