Unit 9 - The Pacific Flashcards
Nan Madol: Identifiers
Style: Saudeleur Dynasty
Location: Pohpei, Micronesia
Date: 700-1600 CE
Nan Madol: Form
- 92 small artificial islands connected by canals, about 170 acres
- built out into the water on a lagoon - similar to Venice
- seawalls 15 ft. high 35 t. thick acted as breakwaters
- canals flushed clean with tides
- islands arranged southwest to northeast to take advantage of trade winds
- walls were made of prismatic basalt; roofs were thatched
Nan Madol: Function
Ancient city that acted as the capital of the Saudeleur Dynasty of Micronesia
Nan Madol: Context
- city built to separate upper classes from lower classes
- king arranged for upper classes to live close to him to keep an eye on them
- curved outer walls point upward at edges , giving the complex symbolic boat-like appearance
Female Deity: Identifiers
Location: Nukuoro, Micronesia
Date: 18th-19th CE
Female Deity: Form + Function
Form: simple geometric form, erect pose, long arms, broad chest, chin drawing to a point; no facial features, horizontal lines used to indicate kneecaps, navel, waistline
Function: female deity
Female Deity: Context
- many kept in religious buildings belonging to the community
- represented individual deities
- sometimes dressed in garments; may have been decorated with flowers
- taken by missionaries who di not record anything about the sculptures
Navigation Chart: Identifiers
Location: Marshall Islands, Micronesia
Date: 19th early 20th century CE
Navigation Chart: Form
- chart made of wood, waterproof and buoyant
- small shells indicate position of islands on the chart
- horizontal and vertical sticks support the chart
- diagonal lines indicate wind and water currents
- chart indicate patterns of ocean swells and currents
Navigation Chart: Function
- charts meant to be memorized prior to voyage; not necessarily used during a voyage
- charts enabled navigators to guide boats through many islands to get to destination
- charts individualized to their markers; others cannot read the chart
Navigation Chart: Context
- Marshall Islands low lying and hard to see from a distance or from sea level
- charts are called wapepe in the Marshal Islands
‘Ahu ‘ula (Feather Cape): Identifiers
Location: Hawaii
Date: Late 18th century CE
‘Ahu ‘ula (Feather Cape): Materials/Content
- made of 1000s of bird feathers
- feathers numbered 500,000 some birds had only seven usable feathers
- feathers tied to a coconut fiber base
‘Ahu ‘ula (Feather Cape): Function
Only high ranking chiefs or warriors of great ability were entitled to wear these garments; worn by men
‘Ahu ‘ula (Feather Cape): Context
- red was considered a royal color in Polynesia; yellow was prized because of its rarity
- cape was created by artists who chanted the wearer’s ancestors to imbue their power onto it
- protected the wearer from harm
- concept of “mana’: a supernatural force believed to dwell in a person or sacred object
- many capes survived, no two capes alike
Staff God: Identifiers
Style: Polynesian
Location: Cook Islands
Date: Late 18th Century CE
Staff God: Form/Content
- large column-like wooden core mounted upright in village common spaces; wooden core is wrapped with tapa cloth
- wooden sculpture placed on: large carved head with small figures carved below it
- shaft in the form of elongated body
- lower end carved phallus, some missionaries removed and destroyed them considering them obscene
- soul of god represented by polished pearl shells and red feathers, which are placed inside bark cloth next to interior shaft
Hiapo (Tapa): Identifiers
Location: Niue, Polynesia
Date: 1850-1900
Hiapo (Tapa): Content/Form/Materials/Technique
- tapa cloth made from tree bark; the pieces are beaten and pasted together
- using stencils, the artists dye exposed parts of the tapa with paint
- after tapa is dry, designs are sometimes repainted to enhance the effect
Hiapo (Tapa): Function
traditionally worn as clothing before the importation of cotton
Hiapo (Tapa): Context
- Hiapo is the word used fro Niue for tapa (bark cloth)
- tapa takes on a special meaning: commemorating an event, honotring a chief, noting a series of ancestors
- generally made by women
- each set of designs meant to be interpreted symbolically; many of the images have a rich history
Tamati Waka Nene: Identifiers
Style: Naturalism
Artist: Gottfried Lindauer
Location: New Zealand
Date: 1890
Tamati Waka Nene: Content
- Tamati Waka Nene: Maori chief and convert to Wesleyan faith
- emphasis placed on symbols of rank: elaborate tattooing with Maori designs, staff with an eye in the center, feathers dangling from the staff
- ceremonial weapon w/ finely wrought blade , dangling feathers, abalone shell as focal point
- status revealed in oversize greenstone earring, which contains his power or “mana” and kiwi feather cloak
Tamati Waka Nene: Context/Function
- painter born in Bohemia famous for portraits of Maori chiefs
- journeyman painter and tradesman
- european style painting
- Conflicting interpretations of works: Maori may see portraits as embodiments the spirit of a person, and as a link between past and present, westerners may see paintings as a commercial adventure with a monetary value
- others may interpret work as anthropology highlighting aspects of Maori costuming and physiognomy, and what they could mean
- others may see portas as expressions of colonial dominance