Tag Archives: kuri

Unique dog skin cloak – soon to be on show at Te Papa

23 May 2012 – 6.25pm

Every exhibition I work on is different. Each time I learn more and my basket of knowledge (my kete) expands and grows. This time it’s a wonderful exhibition about Māori cloaks, which features many kākahu from Te Papa’s collection, plus a small number of unique taonga which we’re fortunate to borrow from elsewhere.

Kahu Ora Living Cloaks opens in about 2 weeks time on Friday 7 June, and we start to install the taonga in the gallery next week. A week or so ago a very special cloak, a huru kurī, made from eight dog skin, or kurī, pelts stitched together arrived on loan from Puke Ariki in New Plymouth.

I was one of a  group of staff  who were excited to see this unique cloak – the only one of its kind that exists today – for the first time. We had read about it, researched it, and written about it for the exhibition, but this was the first chance to see this taonga close up. The person who once wisely cautioned me to never write a label for an object without seeing it for yourself – well they were right…

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī cloak in Te Whare Pora, the collection store. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī cloak in Te Whare Pora, the collection store. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

What really struck me was that each of the eight dog pelts stitched together to make the cloak is different. Some are white, some are dark black, and one has fox-like fur of quite a different texture. The white fur on another pelt is quite curly. And while I knew that the tails and pointed ears of the dogs were visible on this cloak it was another thing altogether to see them!

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī, cloak stitched from whole dog skins, on loan from Puke Ariki. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī, cloak stitched from whole dog skins, on loan from Puke Ariki. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Under the careful supervision of Conservator Anne Peranteau we  looked at the other side of the cloak.  Anne pointed out where you could see the imprint of the dogs’ ribs, still visible in the dried skin. To see the thickness of the leather and the quality of the stitching made me realise how much skill and effort was involved in making this cloak.

This taonga will now be carefully mounted and displayed in a section of the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition that looks at Māori sewing technology and recent research in this area by experts such as Dr Patricia Te Arapo Wallace.

To find out more about the huru kurī, the history of the cloak and see more images go to:
http://vernon.npdc.govt.nz/search.do?id=294155&db=object&page=1&view=detail

By pamelalovis | Posted in Exhibitions, Māori | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the…

2 April 2012 – 3.54pm

A waggley tail is among the many body parts missing from this particular dog. One of the more unusual items acquired by Te Papa recently was this mounted dog’s head, claimed to be a kurī (Māori dog).

LM002857. Mounted dog head, claimed to be a kurī (Māori dog). Photo: Alan Tennyson, Te Papa

Kurī were brought to New Zealand from Polynesia by the ancestors of Māori, and were found throughout the country at the time of early European contact. Kurī were highly valued by Māori as a source of skins, meat for consumption by chiefs and priests, as well as for hunting birds. Kurī bones were used to make tools, and their bones, teeth and fur were used to make necklaces and pendants. However, kurī were rapidly replaced by or crossed with European dogs, a pattern repeated throughout Polynesia. As a result, kurī have long been extinct, and few specimens are known to exist.

Kurī were small, long-haired dogs about the size of a border collie. Like other Polynesian dogs, they were short-legged, with pricked ears, a terrier-like snout, and a powerful jaw. Most were white, or white with dark patches, but some were black.

LM000828. Kurī (Māori dog) on display in Te Papa exhibit ‘Blood, Earth, Fire: Whangai, Whenua, Ahi Ka’. Te Papa image MA_I006390

Te Papa has a mounted kurī on display in the exhibition ‘Blood, Earth, Fire: Whangai, Whenua, Ahi Ka’. This was one of two shot in the Catlins district in 1876. The only other intact mounted kuri known to exist is in Otago Museum.

Little is known about the provenance of the head recently acquired by Te Papa. Is it genuine? Is it a hoax? Is it a case of mistaken identity? We can address these questions now that the specimen is in the Te Papa collection. The Natural Environment team will be investigating further using a variety of genetic and forensic techniques.

LM002857. Mounted dog head, claimed to be a kurī (Māori dog). Photo: Alan Tennyson, Te Papa

By Colin Miskelly | Posted in Mammals, Māori | Also tagged , | Comments (1)
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