The Blue Privilege. The Last Tattooed Maori Women, Te Kuia Moko. by Harry Sengl.

Publisher: Auckland Richards / Collins 1980. FIRST EDITION. VERY SCARCE.

Good hardback with no jacket. Blue cloth boards are quite worn and marked, rubbed and bumped. Splitting to paper at internal margin but binding tight, name to ffep, a few minor marks to pages but all colour portraits are present and in very good condition.

Portrait artist Harry Sengl came to NZ from Germany in 1969 and his interest in Maori tattooing was ignited when he encountered his "first kuia with a moko" in 1972. In subsequent years he travelled widely in NZ seeking out elderly kuia (old lady) with "moko" (tattoo) willing to sit for the portraits presented in this fine book. Although he met with some refusals, he was able to paint 34 of these elderly women, each with a genuine, traditional chin and lip tattoo, with 33 of the paintings included in the text block of "The Blue Privilege " and the other appearing as the frontispiece. Each colour image is full page with a brief biography of the subject on the facing page. (One of the subject kuia was believed to be more than 120 years old at the time of the painting.) In addition to these paintings the end-papers carry close-up, detail sketches of each tattoo, other sketches show implements used for tattooing, traditional carvings, ornaments and weapons. In two complementary chapters Merimeri Penfold and D R Simmons respectively reflect on the place of moko in Maori community and the techniques used in creating a moko. Harry Sengl's book and his paintings are treasured reminders of that last generation of "kuia with a moko." 96 pages with full page colour plates.

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Pick up from Phoenixbooksnz.com Waimate, South Canterbury.

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