Pare (lintel)

Pare (lintel)

This pare (lintel) hangs over the entrance to the New Zealand arthropod collection (Te aitanga a pepeke o Aotearoa), at the Mt Albert Research Centre in Auckland. Featuring a unique mix of contemporary and traditional aspects, it was carved by Denis Conway, a student of the late Henare Toka, from 100-year-old recycled kauri wood. The traditional style of the Ngāti Whātua people is combined with contemporary features, including realistic creatures such as a spider and dragonfly – unusual in Māori carving.