Māori House Post Lot n° 119

New Zealand, 16th - 17th C. Wood, 61 cm Provenance: Galerie Christine Valluet et Yann Ferrandin, Paris Private collection, Brussels Exhibited: Parcours des Mondes 2008, Paris Imposing ancestor figure from the so-called Maori classic period that approximately ended with the first arrival of Captain James Cook in 1769 in New Zealand and the thereupon following influence of European culture. The bulky rendering of the body and shallow carving of the moko (facial tattoo) testifies to this period when metal tools were not available. Carved house posts like this Pou tokomanawa took the central place in the Meetinghouse. The represented ancestor symbolizes the continuity over the generations of the community. A C14 analysis effectuated by CIRAM dates the wood by 95% probability to the 16th or 17th century, which is coherent with the style of this sculpture.