Pacific Art - APAH Unit 9 🗿 🌺 🏝️ 🐚

213. Nan Madol

• Identifiers

  • Pohnpei, Micronesia. 

  • Saudeleur Dynasty. 

  • c.700–1600 CE

  • Basalt boulders and prismatic columns

• Content

  • man-made islands

  • built out into water on a lagoon similar to Venice

  • City means ‘'space between things. “

  • Basalt - volcanic rock

  • Quarry where Basalt was dug up (complete opposite side of the island)

  • crisscrossing pattern of horizontal and perpendicular rocks

• Context

  • The Sau Deleur Dynasty lasted 500 years

  • Islets had specific religious purposes

  • Dapahu- food decoration and canoe building

  • constructed as a series of artificial raised islands

• Form

• Connections

214. Moai on Platform

• Identifiers

• Content

  • Moai are giant monolithic figures

  • head, torso, but no legs

  • arms are in bas relief

  • All have similar facial detail

  • carved out of a rock cliff

  • placed in lines facing the land and backs to the ocean

  • Pukao- top knots or headdresses represent supernatural power (Extra rock on the top)

• Context

  • Large heads are Polynesian, and wise heads

  • built by people on Easter Island or Rapa Nui

  • represent leaders of the island and are descendants of the Gods

  • discovered eyes made from coral and obsidian

  • carved out eye sockets

• Function

• Form

  • volcanic rock

• Connections

215. ‘Ahu ‘ula feather cape

• Identifiers

  • Hawaiian

  • late 18th century

  • feathers and fibers

• Content

  • Yellow feathers came from the Oo and Mamo birds. (now both extinct)

  • Red feathers are from i’iwi birds

  • Coconut fiber is where it is netted through

• Context

  • Red and yellow symbolize divinity

  • usually wore along with matching headdresses

  • thriving ecosystem

  • crescent shape resembles a rainbow, crest of a helmet, and brightness and radiance

  • Cloaks were valued and passed down to generation

  • complete geometric shapes

• Function

  • luxury item

  • birds are considered sacred and divine

  • wearing the cape shows captured in divinity

• Form

  • 500,000 bird feathers

  • a long cape for royalty to wear

• Connections

216. Staff God

• Identifiers

  • wood, tapa

• content

  • The wooden core is carved

  • wooden is pornographic, viewed by settlers

  • shows gender roles between women making cloth and men carving

  • embodiment of men and woman power (The entire community) which makes it more sacred

• context

  • tapa cloth was used for bedding, clothing and wall hangings

  • tapa is believed to have sacred power inside

  • mana- supernatural power associated with a higher rank

  • wrap the object in divine tapa cloth to give it power

  • Europeans came and converted everyone to Christianity and destroyed

• function

• form

  • 13 ft long

  • carved wooden sculpture inside a cloth

  • Tapa cloth comes from the mulberry tree and is made from the bark expanded into sheets

  • made by women and men carved the wooden inside

• connection

217. Female Deity

• Identifiers

  • Nukuoro, Micronesia

  • 18th-19th century CE

  • wood

• Content

  • Nukuoro is a port of the Caroline Islands and is an Atoll- a ring-shaped coral reef

• Context

  • Nukuoro is famous for its carved diety sculptures which are known as tino aitu

• Function

• Form

• Connections

218.Buk Mask

• Identifiers

  • Torres Strait, Mabuiag Island

  • Mid to late 19th century CE

  • Turtle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, shell.

• Content

  • cassowary bird is a precious material acquired through trade

  • mix of human and animal features

  • trade

• Context

  • worn like a helmet

  • often created to honor and embody sacred figures

  • high-value materials and animal symbolism show how it is to honor ancestors

• Function

  • used during funerary ceremonies and rites to ensure bountiful harvests and abundant fish and game. 

  • reacting to creation stories

• Form

  • turtle shell, wood, cassowary feathers, fibers, resin, shell, paint

  • mother of pearl

• Connections

219. Hiapo Tapa

• Identifiers

  • Niue, Polynesia 

  • c. 1850–1900 CE 

  • Tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting. 

• Content

  • Hiapo is the word for bark or cloth

  • geometric shapes

  • nature-based motifs

• Context

  • Textiles are woman’s wealth better artisans you are the richer

  • Female artists created large painted sheets of Hiapo for public ceremonies and rituals

  • painted for public display to show skill, wealth, and rank

  • gender roles are identified in Polynesian societies

  • woman’s acess to training, tools, and materials in the arts,

  • takes the entire community; therefore is scared of the power of the unification of the community

• Function

  • clothing, bedding, and wall hanging

  • Textiles were specially prepared and decorated for people of rank

  • used in trade

  • mana - supernatural power associated with a high rank

• Form

  • handpainted

  • used stencils

  • made from the spongy inner bark of the mulberry tree

• Connection

  • imagery and tattoos and pottery in this time

220. Tamati Waka Nene

• Identifiers

  • Gottfried Lindauer

  • New Zealand

  • 1890 CE 

  • Oil on canvas

• content

  • painted from photographs and likenesses

  • chief regalia and recognizable features

  • face tattoo is called a moko

  • greenstone earring

  • holds a weapon adorned with feathers and an abalone shell eye

  • represents a high rank

  • Moko tattoos were traditionally carved into skin

  • hand weapon known as a Tewhatewha

• context

  • Māori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand/Aotearoa

  • They came in canoes from East Polynesia in 1320 CE

  • Europeans arrived in New Zealand in 1642

  • Colonization brought trade and also christianity

  • Traditionally, they were carved out of wood but transitioned into painting (after colonization)

  • Gottfried Lindauer was trained in renaissance and naturalism

• function

  • Portraits of ancestors and it IS the ancestor

  • embodiment of mana

  • Treasures passed down through generations are treated with great care and reverence

  • After a person has died, their portrait may be hung

• form

  oil and canvas

• connections

• wooden deity wrapped in tapa

• Korean portrait of Sin Sukju

221. Navigation Chart

• Identifiers

  • Marshall Islands, Micronesia

  • 19th to early 20th century CE

  • Wood and fiber

• Content

  • Memory aid and teaching tool called meddo and rebbelib

  • They can change with the weather

  • They all use shells as islands and use wooden sticks and so they can float

• Context

  • people sit blindfolded on the bottom of a sailboat feeling currents and wave patterns to help navigate

  • meant to be memorized

• Function

  • navigation aid using wave patterns and currents

• Form

  • wood, fiber, cowrie shell

  • can float

• Connections

  • memory board from Lukasa memory board which has tribal history

222. Malagan display and mask

• Identifiers

  • New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea

  • c. 20th century CE 

  • Wood, pigment, fiber, and shell

• Content

  • Painted black, yellow, and red

  • contrast in color and texture

  • zoomorphic

  • the base of the figure is a rock cod which changed gender as it grows

• Context

  • New Zealand

  • Malagan means likeness or to carve

  • to represent ancestors that also embody the soul

  • include many different carved features

  • Malagan masks are very helmet-like

  • worn by men only

  • one leader of the ceremony

  • paid to participate

  • when revealed to the public at the end of the ceremony, they are considered to be dangerous, and the mask is thrown away and cannot be used more than once

• Function

  • worn during ceremonies

  • Only special officials can wear the masks

  • represent the dead ancestors

  • affirm identities of clan groups

• Form

  • wood, pigment, fiber and shell

• Connections

223. Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II. *

• Identifiers

  • Fiji, Polynesia

  • 1953 CE 

  • Multimedia performance: costume, cosmetics, scent, chant, movement, and pandanus fiber/hibiscus fiber mats, photographic documentation. 

• Content

• Context

  • The queen visited Fiji and Tonga

  • The tapa cloth was rolled out onto a path for her, and the path symbolizes an alliance between England and Fiji

  • Gender roles

  • In Fiji, tapa cloth is called Masi

  • Sometimes worn during funerals, weddings, and ceremonies

  • the mats are made of pandanus which are dried leaves

• Function

  • The ceremony was meant to show gratitude and respect to the Queen

• Form

  • tapa cloth

• Connections