Ranginui-e-tū-nei

Pauline Kahurangi Yearbury is well-known as a pioneer ringatoi wahine working in a modernist manner. This piece forms a pair with Papatūānuku, 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):

‘RANGI. The Sky Father, whose full name was RANGI-NUI-E-TŪ-NEI (great heaven standing above). He mated with PAPA-TŪ-Ā-NUKU, the Earth Mother, and was separated from her by their offspring (the only one faithful to him being his son TĀWHIRIMĀTEA, the god of winds), and was adorned by Tāne with sun, moon, stars and clouds. Even now, the gentle rain falling on the earth is said to be the tears of RANGI as he weeps over the body of his beloved mate.’