Kitsch

Archaeological Kitsch

Archaeological items of iconic status become the subject of modern copies and re-use of the imagery. New Zealand items are not immune.

Maori

Rock drawings seem to have been particularly prone to this - borrowings appearing on fabrics, glassware, ceramics,postage stamps and even matchboxes. O'Regan discusses this use in the context of cultural property. A scarf with many images from rock art. Another scarf. Another colourway. Yet another. In the 1960s peanut butter was sold in packaging like these - which could be used as glases after they were emptied. Another one. Someone's idea of a nephrite adze - for sale as a replica on TradeMe Enamelled dishes, central one labelled by CERAWARE. Another enamelled dish. Rock art used on a commemorative stamp Rock art used on a definitive stamp Rock art used on fabric. This was produced by blockprinting by poet Rex Fairburn. He obtained the artwork for this from Theo Schoon and reproduced using linocut blocks. Wikipedia has an article on Schoon. Another print can be seen here. Fairburn and Schoon have Dictionary of New Zealand Biography entries. An execrable souvenir of the 1940 Centennial Exhibition. Perhaps not archaeological - a Birmingham made badge representing the Hinemoa and Tutanekai gateway at the Model Pa, Whakarewarewa. It doesn't include a kiwi! This sold for $113.99 on Trademe so it awfullness was certainly appreciated.The gateway itself is an example of bowdlerisation of Maori carving. A rock art image often interpreted as an eagle used on a lamp base. A rock art image on a box of matches. The back. More matches. Still more. Dorothy Ewart pottery dish. Enamelled coffee table. Another enamelled coffee table. Enamelled wall plaque.

Colonial

Barry Curtis Park in South Auckland has volcanic rock walls, reconstructed from a nearby farm site. The unfortunate result is what happens when landscape architecture captures archaeological reconstruction. Reconstructed walls The sign Walls Yet more walls