Pataka (Raised Storehouse)

This pataka was the property of Maori chief Te Pokiha Taranui. Many figures on the porch represent well-known ancestors of his tribe. The pataka was completed in the early 1870s and stood at Maketu in the Bay of Plenty for many years. Apart from its use as a storehouse it was intended to symbolise the status and power of Te Pokiha.
Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand.