Important Carved Ancestral Panel by Tene Waitere

A large and important carved poupou (carved ancestral panel), the standing male ancestral figure with naturalistic face and body and incised ta moko and rauponga and pikorauru (spiral) carving to shoulders. The abdomen carved with a wheku head. The legs with kowhaiwhai designs and with further rauponga carving. The figure surmounts a wheku head with rauponga carved detailing conforming to that on the main figure. Provenance: this important poupou is one of the eight panels carved by Tene Waitere for the geyser observation rotunda at Whakarewarewa. It was carved in 1903 and remained in situ until the fibre roof of the structure caught fire. The rotunda was then dismantled, and the eight ancestral panels were offered for sale. This poupou along with three other poupou from the rotunda were purchased by Reginald Smith. In 1931 Reginald Smith purchased the land at Te Wairoa and working with local iwi, began excavations on the site, soon after opening the Buried village. This piece remained on display at the Buried village throughout its history until it was sold by the Smith family in 2012. Three of the poupou remain in the Buried village collection and another two of the carved boards from the rotunda are held in the Museum of New Zealand Te papa Tongarewa collection. The observation rotunda and details pertaining to it are referenced and illustrated in carved Histories: Rotorua ngati tarawhai Woodcarving by Roger Neich. P.220 and P.221. 260 cm height. 60 cm width. Y 15772