Papatūānuku

Pauline Kahurangi Yearbury is well-known as a pioneer ringatoi wahine working in a modernist manner. This piece forms a pair with Ranginui-e-tū-nei, which shares a similar composition. The works are typical examples of the incised and stained wood panels representing atua Māori that Yearbury produced in collaboration with her husband James in the 1960s and 1970s. A label on the reverse of this work reads (with minor corrections):

‘PAPA-TŪ-Ā-NUKU. The Earth Mother, whose name means The earth extending afar, was the wife of RANGI, the Sky Father, and together they were the parents of the gods. After the separation of earth and sky, PAPA was turned over on her face so that she could no longer see her husband, lest she continue to grieve for him. TĀNE then adorned his mother with plants and trees and finally created from her the first woman.’