Phillipps, W. J. : Maori Carving Illustrated

Maori carving is the writing of a people who never needed a written language. All the national conceptions of ancestor respect and allegiance, man's struggle to choose between good and evil, love of children, pride, suffering and defiance are there to be read by the initiated.

First published in 1955, W. J. Phillipps' Maori Carving Illustrated is one of the few souces of information about the origins and meaning of the basic shapes and patterns in Maori carving. Using many photographs to illustrate his text, he discusses subjects such as tapu, the one-eyed figure, the three-fingered hand, spirals, decorative features, the lizard, carving on weapons and tools, wakahuia and carved houses. Now revised and updated, Maori Carving Illustrated remains an essential source of information for those wanting an introduction to the history and development of carving in Aotearoa, New Zealand.