Oceanic art from Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia: Moai of Rapa Nui, Maori meeting houses, tapa cloth, tattoo, and ritual objects, with cultural context.
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- What are moai?
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Large stone ancestor figures carved on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)- Where were moai created?
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Easter Island (Rapa Nui), a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific- When were most moai carved?
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Roughly 1000 to 1500 CE- What stone were moai carved from?
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Tuff, a soft volcanic rock- What were moai eyes originally made from?
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White coral for the whites and red scoria (volcanic stone) for the pupils- What is an ahu?
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A ceremonial stone platform on Easter Island built to hold one or more moai- What distinctive facial features characterize moai?
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Long angular chins, prominent noses, and thin-lipped mouths- What symbols appear on the backs of many moai?
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Vulva motifs (komari) representing female generative power- What is a whare whakairo?
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A communal Maori carved timber meeting house serving as tribal gathering place and genealogical record- What traditional woods are used in Maori carving?
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Kauri and totara- What design style characterizes Maori wood carving?
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Intricate curvilinear and geometric patterns including spirals that often cover entire surfaces- What is the koru?
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A Maori spiral motif symbolizing new life, growth, and the unfurling fern frond- What is the poutokomanawa?
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The central carved post of a whare whakairo representing an important ancestor- What is ta moko?
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Maori facial tattoo that records genealogy and identifies the wearer's status and lineage- What tool is used to create ta moko?
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A bone chisel applied by a tohunga ta moko (trained expert)
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