Portraits, Aotearoa New Zealand

  'POL N.Z. North Island Te Puea Herangi of Ngaruawahia   Princess Te Puea at Ngaruawahia's house the interior of which embodies the best of Maori tradition and craftsmanship. The regularity and straight lines of the tukutuku work of weaving in the toetoe reed panel contrasts with a bewildering mass of seemingly haphazard curves in carving designs. The fashionings of the house were in luxurious European style, though far from European conceptions of royal residences.   POL NZ. North Island, Whakatane. Girl Pupil taught art of weaving.   She is shown facing turu-turu, the upright sides of the loom   POL NZ. North Island   Young Ngatiawa, Irihapeti Meihana, wearing hei tiki as neck pendant in greenstone, a human figure which has a large head and cramped limbs like all human figures in Maori wood carving. The hei tiki was at one time commonly worn by men, and a variety of tiki is known to have been associated with important events of Maori history and to be tribal heirlooms.'   Kissling's note, 1978   Top: This is a portrait of Te Puea Herangi (1883-1952). She was a Māori leader and activist, who worked to strengthen communities and offer economic opportunities in Waikato. She resisted unfair treatment of Māori people by the New Zealand government and was awarded a CBE in 1937.   Bottom left: The unnamed girl in this picture is learning to weave. Māori weaving is still practised today, both using traditional techniques and incorporating new materials.   Research note, 2019