Behind the scenes: He Māra Mahara | Cultural Collections

Although it is typically the front of a canvas that is the most captivating part of an artwork, sometimes the best stories are revealed through what is found on the back. That might be an artist's signature, a gallery sticker, or a scrawled original purchase price that helps solve some mystery. Occasionally, there are even more surprising details just behind the 'main event' on the front. 

One of the best versos in the University’s Art Collection is Toss Woollaston's Taranaki Landscape (1965), which has the composition of another painting perfectly framed on the reverse. In this usually unseen work, Woollaston has loosely painted an oceanside landscape, depicting a rounded bay bordered by large cliffs. There is no clear relationship between the scenes on the double-sided painting—except the 1965 date—but it seems the artist was dissatisfied with elements of the first landscape and has reused the wooden board for his finished depiction of Mount Taranaki.¹ 

Madeleine Gifford, Art Collection Adviser
 

 
This diagram of a musical interval chart is from a donation of material to the Archive of Māori and Pacific Sound that adds depth and context to a collection of audio recordings by ethnomusicologist Mervyn McLean (1930-2022).  The interval chart is for a waiata tangi recorded by McLean from Arapeta Awatere | Ngāti Porou, Waikato, Ngāpuhi, in Rotorua in 1958.  

The item was among field notes and documentation relating to McLean’s thesis and subsequent research that were donated by his family this year. These records supplement and enhance the Mervyn McLean traditional Māori songs recordings collection, and include notes on songs and performers, musical annotation and interval charts, and correspondence with his supervisor regarding his travels. 

The donation also included notes, correspondence, and musical annotation relating to Tikopia for McLean’s work on publications with Raymond Firth, and for his recordings from the Cook Islands. 

This rich research material is being sorted and processed and details will be progressively added to the related archival database records.² 

William Hamill, Team Leader, Cultural Collections

While sorting through an amazing donation of material relating to the Spragg family, I came across this photograph of Alice Dorothy Spragg (1888-1954) sitting proudly astride her horse, Dandy. I was immediately impressed by her stance and riding habit, but the familiar background also caught my eye.  Yes, she is riding her horse on Princes Street outside Alfred Nathan House and there is horse dung on the unsealed road.³

The Price Photo Company photograph is not dated but the clothes and hat that Alice—known as Dorothy—is wearing, suggests it was taken during or soon after the First World War.  It certainly dates to no later than September 1922, by which time the house at left had been demolished to make way for the new Arts (ClockTower) Building.

Katherine Pawley, Archivist

Trying to picture who might have first owned sometimes centuries-old items is an occupational hazard when working with heritage material.  For this 1860s map of Nara, Japan, I can imagine a local tourist unfolding and refolding it as they wander around the historic town, visiting Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.   

Maps like Washū Nara no ezu were produced in sizeable quantities in the 19th century to meet the demand from a growing tourist market.  This worn copy from around 1864 measures 66cm x 48.5cm but is a more practical 17cm x 13cm when folded. It is oriented with north to the left, relief is shown pictorially, giving a 3-D effect, and it has useful visitor information, such as distance charts, places of interest, and a seasonal calendar. Especially delightful are the numerous figures of Sika deer, which continue to roam Nara Park and other parts of the still popular city.   

Once a handy guide and souvenir, the map is now one of many examples of woodblock printing in the Asian Languages Collection.⁴

Jo Birks, Cultural Collections Adviser

I was intrigued by the headline ‘Swimming Pool or Gymnasium?’ over a letter penned by one ‘Breastroker’ when browsing the bound volume of student magazine Craccum from 1954. That’s more than 20 years before the University had a purpose-built recreation centre and 70 years before the opening of Hiwa, with its pool and gym (and much more). 

The anonymous Breastroker suggested that a pool on campus—‘thirty-three and one-third yards long by twenty yards wide and four feet deep’—would allow students, ‘an hour’s sunshine and fresh air at lunchtime’. Further, they doubted there was need for a gymnasium, ‘experience has shown that there is great apathy to physical education in its pure form.’ I was charmed by Breastroker’s proposal that this new swimming pool would be designed by Architecture and Engineering students, with voluntary labour for its construction supplied by members of the varsity swimming club to keep costs down.

Ian Brailsford, Cultural Collections Assistant