Wood carving in the Marquesas Islands

Wood carvings
Tiki

Wood carving in the Marquesas Islands is a practice undertaken by many of the local master craftsmen, who are known as tuhuna. The tuhuna are not only adept at wood carving, but are also skilled at tattoo art and adze manufacture.[1] Marquesan wooden crafts are considered among the finest in French Polynesia; they are highly sought after,[2] and of consistently high quality,[3] although weaving, basket-making, and pareu painting is more popular, especially among women artisans.[4] Paul Gauguin noted the artistic sense of decoration of the Marquesas and appreciated the "unheard of sense of decoration" in their creative art forms.[5]

  1. ^ Peregrine, Peter N.; Ember, Melvin (31 January 2001). Encyclopedia of Prehistory: Volume 3: East Asia and Oceania. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-306-46257-3.
  2. ^ Pacific Magazine. PacificBasin Communications. 2005. p. 52.
  3. ^ Brillat, Michael (1999). South Pacific Islands. Nelles. p. 208. ISBN 978-3-88618-104-9.
  4. ^ Stanley, David (5 April 2011). Moon Tahiti. Avalon Travel. p. 426. ISBN 978-1-61238-114-5.
  5. ^ Kjellgren & Ivory 2005, p. 3.