New Zealand Ferns
Artist
Elizabeth Pulman(New Zealander, born England, 1836–1900)New Zealander, born England, 1836–1900
Artist
Reginald Wormald Brewer(British, 1850–1915)British, 1850–1915
CultureBritish
Titles
- New Zealand Ferns
Datec. 1894
MediumAlbum of gelatin silver prints, albumen silver prints and pressed ferns
DimensionsClosed: 14 3/4 × 11 7/8 × 2 1/4 in. (37.5 × 30.2 × 5.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors
Object number2017.353
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
many Victorian gentlemen interested in the natural world, Reginald Brewer
collected and carefully pressed ferns in a handmade album while traveling in
New Zealand. Surprisingly, he also collected a different type of native
specimen: portraits of heavily tattooed Maori chiefs by Elizabeth Pulman, a
prominent English-born photographer in Auckland. Traditional Maori ta moko—slicing or chiseling the
skin—yields deep grooves stained with dark pigment, a practice frowned upon by
missionaries and abandoned by the 1860s. Brewer’s inclusion of such photographs
amid other New Zealand specimens strikingly illustrates both his curiosity
about the natural world and his colonial perspective.
Provenance[Librairie Serge Plantureux, Paris]; purchased by MFAH, 2017.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Embossed in gold, front cover: NEW // ZEALAND FERNS
Inscribed in black ink, front free end page, center: From // R.W. Brewer. // With kind Wishes.
Inscribed in black ink, front free end page, center: From // R.W. Brewer. // With kind Wishes.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
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