AN ANCIENT ART.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19971, 4 July 1930, Page 15

AN ANCIENT ART.

DECORATIVE TATTOOING.

SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AND NATIVES.'

Willingness to undergo severe pain, for personal adornment, has diminished greatly in modern times, although even to-day some of the aids to beauty can be accompanied by acute temporary discomfort. One of the most popular of. ' ancient methods of bodily ornamezlt .was by the tattoo needle. It can be - -traced, back as far as 2130 8.C., and,' among some sections of the community; still flourishes. \ It seems, that tattooing has been used ' by natives of the tropics Ttor'the 'superstitious purpose of warding tiff -evil, just'as much as fori bodily ornament. Sentimentality plays a large parting its use among civilised peop.lv soldier* and • sailors—the latter particularlycarrying with them for life some'beautiful as well as grotesque designs.! Some very fine examples of facial marking* are. still to be seen among the .North v Island Maoris, but in the Wouth Island the only opportunity of inspecting a specimen of the art is by the expenditure of a,few pence in : thfe entertainment alley at an A. and P. Shbw. The Christcliurch Museum contains' "excellent examples of complete faciar tattooing, the heads having been.;-smoked .for preservation' ? purpoßeS".-' Complete- TattoG Vanishing. *' An expert stated yesterday ».thai' it was-doubtful, if a' fully face 1 ■ ■ could now be found in the whole of -New Zealand.-Some years party*-;,of ■ Maoris • visited, the. seuin. They were-go.fltrnfek'by r thtf Jgbre of Wiremu Kingi Te-Manpwha (o.taki) standing outside the Maori-house .that they squatted before it. in tie lobby for some tiihc, holding* inild fwrmt i of tangi. They stated that.' th'e[ tattooing of the whole of the ?ace jjajra * ' Very true resemblance of/Jhtf" famoustribal head. "• '.?">• -*' *-.* -• ; With the Maoris and. kindred'' :rase« the characters are largdyemhTemafcic ' and significant of Orrtameatiil : d&ire. The Maori method of; the early days was the ?bf ' the . 6kin with bone instruments, pouring over the incisions of juicediAin • . herbs. Among civilised people the methods do not differ greatly. Ordinary ; needles were used until very recently,, from three to five'being either inserted: - in corl; or a wooden handle. > Tbe' points * are dipped in the .cplouring matter, at each insertion, the nkin is made tense as- in vaccination, and "the needles are generally made to enter at rfght angle. v -. The design is often drawn upon the skin beforehand with pen oe 'pencil. Sometimes the pattern wricked out in paper, which is laid upon the skin, and finely-powdered charcoal id poured over ■ it to obtain the desired outline. . v -

Not Always Tattoo niarks arcj not always altogether indelible. Cases of rapid disappearance have been" remarked? But' in ■ other cases the marks are still distinct after, over' 60 years. In the borne, case the,absence of .tattooed marks which should have been present ( formed; one of -the strongest points - against the prisoner - - At the age of 17 .years. Boger. Tienborne had* three symbols "tattooed on.vhia arm, a cross, an anchor, and a heart * indicating faith, hope; l and friend, Lord Bellew, :<tfreqtiently saw ' these marks and, himself, Indian ink, the initials,?.,C,T.-la-tet-ters half an inch long , on Tichborne's arm,"above the symbols. » . ' ■ On the same occasion, with the same needles and • ink, Tichborrie-jtattooed ■an anchor on Lord Bellew's arm;^TMs'remained perfectly dißttnct 25 years, later when it was exhibited to the .-.jury.*No evidence of tattooing fl-as discoverable on the arm of "the claimant" and he had admitted Ithat he- never .was tat-, tooed. ,

Practised In Egypt. That the practice -of goes back to very ancient times was-proved by archaeologists at the ,tomb of. Sing Tutankhamen. They . found. a tattooed Egyptian'princess. The Royal .lady was apparently one of the beauties of the first Theban dynasty which flourished 2150 B.C. Her bosom and neck were delicately tattooed with., small, bluish symbols, and traceries einblemati? .of caste and. nobility. : To-day electric needjes ■ are used for tattooing and quite a few wojaen .in London and Paris have, :the vogne of a butterfly or some-other Resign upon a shotilder. Some of the designs are works of' art, very delicately traced.