The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Fishing Canoe Prow

Fishing Canoe Prow

1800s
wood with haliotis (pearl) shell inlay
Overall: 35.3 cm (13 7/8 in.)
The Mary Spedding Milliken Memorial Collection, Gift of William Mathewson Milliken 1967.231
Location: not on view

Description

Intricate surface patterning characterizes Maori wood carvings. The swirls and spirals covering the face on this canoe prow replicate traditional facial tattoo patterns. Similar designs were used for post and gable figures that adorned both dwellings and compounds.
  • Harry Beasley
    Harry Beasley
  • Sims, Lowery Stokes. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. p. 117, color repr. p. 54, no. 39.
  • The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).
    MOCA Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006): "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art", no. 39, p. 117, color repr. p. 54.
    Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).
  • {{cite web|title=Fishing Canoe Prow|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.231