Woodwork

Hausbrett

About the object

The two carved panels were part of the interior Maori meeting house or wharenui. These communal houses of the Maori people, which are still built today, form the focal point of social and political life. They embody an ancestor as a whole: the diagonal bargeboards are the arms, a carved face on the point of the gable represents the head, the ridge beam represents the backbone and the rafters signify the ribs. Painted or carved figures, such as this wall carving inside the house, represent individual ancestors or important historical persons and render the genealogy of the group visible. The bevelleing indicates that it is a carving from the gable of the house, which was purchased together with its counterpart. The two specimens have been carved differently, each has three faces, offset by a set pattern that represents the ribs, that is to say, the body. The outstretched tongue symbolises strength, vitality and combat readiness. Large meeting houses were first built from the mid-19th century onward in the wake of bellicose interactions with Europeans. Not only were they meeting places for larger groups, they also demonstrated Maori strength and are found in many places in New Zealand, including urban settings. The two carvings were acquired in 1905 through the collector and trader in ethnographic artefacts Umlauff.

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