The Māori Firestick in the Olden Times
Louis Steele, Artist
About the Work
Steele,
who
taught
Goldie,
had
a
studio
in
Auckland's
Victoria
Arcade
close
to
those
of
the
Wright
brothers
and
Robert
Atkinson.
In
1898,
Steele
and
Goldie
had
collaborated
on
the
famous
painting
The
Arrival
of
the
Māoris
in
New
Zealand,
a
work
that
shows
the
artist's
indebtedness
to
his
academic
training
in
Paris
and
his
abiding
interest
in
painting
scenes
from
Māori
history,
mythology
and
traditional
customs.
Leonard
Bell
has
observed
that
in
such
works
"myths
are
being
created
about
the
Māori
by
Europeans
for
Europeans."
It
would
be
interesting
today
to
know
the
whereabouts
of
the
very
large
work
called
The
Treaty
of
Waitangi
that
he
was
commissioned
in
1893
to
paint
for
the
library
of
the
House
of
Representatives.
Steele's primary intention was always painterly; he sought a striking image rather than an ethnologically-correct representation. Perhaps this explains his subordinate placement of the melancholy figure of a woman walking beside the shore. Looking downward, she seems to have no part in the main subject, the making of fire by rubbing wood together. She is simply there for decorative reasons to fill an otherwise empty space. - PS
While Louis Steele's main preoccupation may have been with the technology of fire-making, his painting makes other references to Taonga Māori in this exhibition such as implements, clothing ear ornaments and moko worn by an as yet unidentified Māori man. His size compared to other elements of the painting as well as his highly detailed facial features and musculature can distract us from the activity he is undertaking. Such detailing is not given nearly as much to the female figure who appears behind him, some distance off, so Steele's motives seem related to popularising representations of Māori men, without naming them.
In spite of the liberties taken by Steele by not fully acknowledging his human subjects, we may nevertheless turn our attention to the material taonga that surrounds them, acknowledging its highly valued significance in Māori culture. Indeed, the process and technological skill of fire-making should also be given additional status beyond that of a quaint activity once practiced by Māori people. We may further imagine that once the 'fire maker' is fully identified, he may yet be, in a similar fashion to the taonga, given increased, and very long overdue, mana and respect. - JD
(from Te Huringa text, http://www.fletchercollection.co.nz/exhibition/turning-points/category3/louis-james-steele.php)
The original title for this work when it was first exhibited in 1913 is 'The Māori Firestick in the Olden Times'. When the painting entered the Sarjeant Gallery collection it was recorded with the title 'Haki Aki' which is inscribed on the verso of the frame (most likely this is also a typo as Hika Ahi is te reo for fire plough).
A source photograph for the painting could be this image by Josiah Martin in the collection of the Auckland Museum https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_library-photography-19762?k=Martin%20hika%20ahi&ordinal=1
- references and notes supplied by PhD researcher Jane Davidson-Ladd Sep 2022
Steele's primary intention was always painterly; he sought a striking image rather than an ethnologically-correct representation. Perhaps this explains his subordinate placement of the melancholy figure of a woman walking beside the shore. Looking downward, she seems to have no part in the main subject, the making of fire by rubbing wood together. She is simply there for decorative reasons to fill an otherwise empty space. - PS
While Louis Steele's main preoccupation may have been with the technology of fire-making, his painting makes other references to Taonga Māori in this exhibition such as implements, clothing ear ornaments and moko worn by an as yet unidentified Māori man. His size compared to other elements of the painting as well as his highly detailed facial features and musculature can distract us from the activity he is undertaking. Such detailing is not given nearly as much to the female figure who appears behind him, some distance off, so Steele's motives seem related to popularising representations of Māori men, without naming them.
In spite of the liberties taken by Steele by not fully acknowledging his human subjects, we may nevertheless turn our attention to the material taonga that surrounds them, acknowledging its highly valued significance in Māori culture. Indeed, the process and technological skill of fire-making should also be given additional status beyond that of a quaint activity once practiced by Māori people. We may further imagine that once the 'fire maker' is fully identified, he may yet be, in a similar fashion to the taonga, given increased, and very long overdue, mana and respect. - JD
(from Te Huringa text, http://www.fletchercollection.co.nz/exhibition/turning-points/category3/louis-james-steele.php)
The original title for this work when it was first exhibited in 1913 is 'The Māori Firestick in the Olden Times'. When the painting entered the Sarjeant Gallery collection it was recorded with the title 'Haki Aki' which is inscribed on the verso of the frame (most likely this is also a typo as Hika Ahi is te reo for fire plough).
A source photograph for the painting could be this image by Josiah Martin in the collection of the Auckland Museum https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_library-photography-19762?k=Martin%20hika%20ahi&ordinal=1
- references and notes supplied by PhD researcher Jane Davidson-Ladd Sep 2022
Measurements
Image 287 x 338mm
Frame 500 x 560mm
Frame 500 x 560mm
Media
oil on canvas
Description
Oil painting showing a beach scene with a Māori man kneeling and using a fire stick to start a fire. Behind him is a woman walking along the edge of the waves, in the distance at right are stone cliffs. The subject of the painting is possibly sourced from a glass plate negative photographed by Josiah Martin, in the collection of Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum (PH-1958-1-15392)
Credit Line
Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Gift of Mrs N. Cameron, Taumarunui, 1988
Collection Type
Permanent collection
Acquisition Date
1988