Canoe Bailer

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Culture Māori

Title Canoe Bailer (Tiheru or Tata)

Date Early 19th century

Medium Wood

Dimensions Object: 16 3/4 × 11 3/4 × 6 in. (42.5 × 29.8 × 15.2 cm)
Overall: 16 3/4 × 11 3/4 × 6 in. (42.5 × 29.8 × 15.2 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 75.67

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About this Work

Bailers such as this were an important piece of equipment for Māori war canoes, which could hold one hundred or more men. The form of this bailer is typical: carved of a single piece of wood, it is a broad scoop with a handle projecting over it. Though other war canoe accouterments—stone anchors, plaited fiber sails, and wooden paddles—were generally relatively plain, bailers were elaborately decorated, and, like much Māori carving, they have multiple levels of visual interpretation. This bailer has been attributed to the Rongowhakaata group, who live in the vicinity of Poverty Bay on the east cape of Te Ika-a-Māui (North Island).

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Canoe Bailer | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=75.67