Source Of Maori Fabric Design In U.K. Found

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30631, 23 December 1964, Page 2

Source Of Maori Fabric Design In U.K. Found

(From Our Own Reporter) TIMARU, December 21. A Maori fabric design which Mrs A. M. Steven, of Timaru,. placed with the leading British fabric-maker, Ziki Ascher, in 1951, was drawn by an elderly Maori, Mrs Henri Sherratt (Te Awamutu), a sister of Lady Pomare. The design, in black, on white silk, will be shown to the leading couturiers in Paris and Great Britain, and it is expected that one of them will wish to use it.

According to the London correspondent of “The Press,” Mr Ascher’s staff believe there are excellent chances of the design becoming a fashion hit. Mr Ascher’s difficulty was that he was unaware of the identity of the artist.

The design, a black and white abstract leaf pattern, was in a bundle of Maori design inspirations which Mr Ascher returned without using. But when the design, which had got mixed up with others came to light, Mr Ascher decided it was “right” to print on white silk.

Mrs Steven, who is a mem- i ber of the Canterbury Society : of Arts, and who paints in water-colours and oils, went ■ to England in 1950-51 to further her study of design. On the way, she saw the Maori materials in New York and, later, it was arranged for samples to be sent to the Dominion Museum, through Dr. Falla making an exchange of Maori weapons with the materials through the Museum of Natural History. Primitive Art “I have always been interested in primitive art, and the sub-conscious approach to painting,” said Mrs Steven. In 1939, she visited Canada and America, visiting art centres, and she spent a month in the desert of New Mexico studying lidian art. It was this period that led her to be interested in what the Maori could do, approaching it from the unconscious. Mrs Steven worked with the East Coast Maoris for two years in the Education Department as an area organiser, and did some research while travelling round. “There is a feeling of the Pacific way of life in the designs done by Maoris according to folk memory,” said Mrs Steven. Fund of Ideas “The Maori—and I am speaking not of the traditional carver, whose work is known, but of the general Maori population—possesses a surprising and fascinating fund of design, of which he is unaware. It lies within his subconscious, and varies according to the life he lives. “Some years ago, I had the opportunity to explore his realm. I only touched the surface, but was able to discover the depth of talent that exists. If a mental effort were involved, then the design reverted to a repetition of traditional pattern, but if one could get them to design freely and spontaneously, in a warm and friendly atmosphere, then the new patterns came.”

Mrs Steven said Mrs Sherratt, who is more than 70 years of age, was ill, but was very thrilled when she sent her a photograph, printed in “The Press,” showing Mr Ascher with his Maoriinspired design on white silk.

“She had done several designs for me when I set out on my venture to prove that the Maori could hold his own in present-day

design. Strange to say, it is very difficult to place new designs. Designs that resemble those that sold well the year before—yes. But buyers are quite terrified of anything entirely new,” said Mrs Steven.

“Those done by Maori children and adults were considered exclusive and too sophisticated for the general public. Some children’s designs have been placed in America through the chairman of Anthropology at the Museum of Natural History. New York, who considered they were a continuation of design in the race. These can

be seen on furnishing linen at the Dominion Museum Wellington, but I was anxious to place an adult’s design in England, and although Mi Ascher took one, I had nd heard of it being printed,’ Mrs Steven said. Mrs Steven did her Maor design work under hei maiden name (Mollie Davies: but signs her paintings “A M. Steven.”