New Take, Old Idea

Maori dolls have been around for decades and many of the early ones are now fetching excellent prices in antique and secondhand stores. Many of the new versions - like many Maori items now found in contemporary gift stores - are not even made in New Zealand much less by Maori but these ones (I think) are. I rather like them - especially their little harakeke piupiu (flax skirts) and their taniko bodices. They're made by a company called Aroha but I've yet to find out much about them, or where they're based.

Hello Dolly!

I love these very cute Tama and Moana photo-blocks created by Leonie Richardson. Leonie has taken two Maori dolls and posed them in front of iconic New Zealand landscapes. You'll find them in good art and design stores. I spotted these ones in Christchurch. Must go back and buy some.

Hello Dolly.

Kaikoura. April 2009. Ajr

Maori Dolls

Waiting For Customers

Toying with Dolls

Auckland April 2009. Ajr

I seem to be developing a weakness for Maori dolls. I wonder if I feel another collection coming on. I photographed this one in an Auckland secondhand store and have been wishing ever since that I bought it. Always the way!

Souvenirs in a Box

Christchurch. March 2009. Ajr
Maori Souvenir Dolls
in a Christchurch shop window

Hello Dolly.

Maori dolls, Rotorua. 2007 Ajr

When I was a kid you saw Maori dolls everywhere. They're not so common now - thanks to the great (and often unnecessary) whitewash of political correctness. To prove my point - that these cute dolls are not half as offensive as some would have us believe - these were actually photographed in a Maori home in Rotorua.