In telling the epic story of the Motunui Epa, historian Rachel Buchanan creates a taonga of her own
- Written by: Jonathan Barrett, Associate Professor in Commercial Law and Taxation, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Werner Forman/Getty ImagesThe celebrated art critic Ernst Gombrich identified Māori carving (whakairo) as a triumph of human culture. Unfortunately, beautiful artefacts often attract the attention of plunderers, unscrupulous dealers and complicit collectors.
Rachel Buchanan’s Te Motunui Epa tells the story of a set of exquisitely carved...