E. Mervyn Taylor
Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1906, d.1964
Te Kōtuku Rerenga Tahi
White heron of the single flight
- 1953
- Woodblock engraving
- Purchased, 2010
- 280 x 148mm
- 2010/016
Location: Touring Gallery C
Tags: animals, birds (animals), hands (animal or human components), lightning, Māori (culture or style), monochrome, mythology (literary genre), people (agents), stars (motifs), sunlight
‘Te kōtuku rerenga tahi’, which translates as ‘the white heron’s single flight’, is a whakataukī describing a rare and distinguished event or visitor. E. Mervyn Taylor’s spectacular wood engraving appeared on the menu cover for a reception banquet held in Rotorua on 2 January 1954 for the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II on her first royal visit to New Zealand. Welcomed with this whakataukī at several pōwhiri, the Queen was compared to the graceful, seldom-seen kōtuku. Taylor’s lyrical design reflects his respect for Māori culture and interest in fostering a distinctly local art.
whakataukī ~ proverb, saying, aphorism pōwhiri ~ ritual of encounter, welcome ceremony on a marae (communal meeting ground or complex belonging to a tribe or sub-tribe
(Bird Land: Te Kāhui Manu 15 August 2026 – 8 February 2027)
Exhibition History
