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Auckland Institute & Museum

Posted: 22 Feb 2017, 15:06
by Arthur Radburn
A coat of arms with unusual supporters, assumed by the Auckland Institute & Museum, in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1928 :

Image

According to a contemporary description, as quoted on the Auckland War Memorial Museum website :

"The shield bears representations of a Maori canoe, under sail, a tuatara lizard, and a torch, symbolising science.

"The crest is the top of a nikau palm, rising from a mural crown, the fronds arranged after the fashion of a fleur-de-lys.

"The supporters are carved representations of manaia, mythical creatures, half man and half bird, often depicted on the barge-boards and door-lintels of Maori houses. The motto is "Whaowhia," meaning "full" or "well stored," an allusion to the many treasures in the new Auckland Museum.

"The design was prepared with the expert help of Mr. T.V. Gulliver."

Re: Auckland Institute & Museum

Posted: 24 Feb 2017, 01:59
by Mark Henderson
Reminds me of the Haida style art.

Re: Auckland Institute & Museum

Posted: 24 Feb 2017, 03:26
by Michael F. McCartney
Thor Heyerdahl of Kon Tiki fame believed there was an actual (pre)historic connection, between Polynesians - especially Maori - and at least some of the Northern Coastal native american / First Nation tribes, based on physical and cultural similarities and the various Pacific currents. (That was decades ago & I don't know if that theory has since been DNA tested.)