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Galleries of Maoriland: Artists, Collectors and the Maori World, 1880–1910

Galleries of Maoriland: Artists, Collectors and the Maori World, 1880–1910

Current price: $74.99
Publication Date: March 21st, 2019
Publisher:
Auckland University Press
ISBN:
9781869409357
Pages:
312

Description

Galleries of Maoriland introduces us to the many ways in which European colonists to New Zealand discovered, created, propagated, and romanticized the Maori world summed up in a popular nickname describing New Zealand: Maoriland. But Blackley shows that Maori were not merely passive victims; they too had a stake in this process of romanticization. What, this book asks, were some of the Maori purposes that were served by curio displays, portrait collections, and the wider ethnological culture?

Galleries of Maoriland looks at Maori prehistory in European art; the enthusiasm of settlers and Maori for portraiture and recreations of ancient life; the trade in Maori curios; and the international exhibition of this colonial culture. By illuminating New Zealand’s artistic and ethnographic economy, this book provides a new understanding of our art and our culture.

About the Author

A former curator of New Zealand historical art, Roger Blackley is an associate professor in art history.