A Triad of Safekeeping is the title of a new publication that focuses on the recently acquired work of the same name by lacemaker Rowan Panther. A triptych of laceworks that bind past, present, and future stories, A Triad of Safekeeping was first displayed at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum in December 2021

Borne from the deep knowledge  of Rowan’s Pacific and European ancestry, and woven from fine muka threads of harakeke grown in the artist’s own garden; A Triad of Safekeeping explores connections between people, place and identity.

"They are pieces of protection drawn together by the idea of ancestry, background and culture. I feel that brings a wider spiritual protection for the wearer, so you keep them safe and they keep you safe."

- Rowan Panther

A Triad of Safekeeping is the second book in an occasional series which explores the Museum's collections. Through her editorship, Associate Curator Contemporary World, Andrea Low brings together the perspectives of artist and curators on one work - A Triad of Safekeeping by Rowan Panther.

First displayed at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum in December 2021, A Triad of Safekeeping occupied a liminal space between Te Marae Ātea Māori Court and Ngā Mounga ā Kiwa Pacific Masterpieces, two permanent galleries co-located but rarely connected. Rowan Panther’s adornments sat at the cross-currents of the wider Pacific and the Māori realm, where they marked continuous ongoing connections and genealogical ties and presenced contemporary culture in the deep knowledge of ancestors, Māori, Pacific and European.

A Triad of Safekeeping provides a locus around which relationships and connections can ebb and flow. A space to explore identity in a multicultural city on this whenua. The triptych’s seemingly simple choice of materials and form – beech, silver and crescent ornament, upon which are mounted fine muka threads worked into lace through intricate and appealing patterns – invites a series of reflections and explorations of identities, museum classifications, technique and creativity that bind past, present, and future stories.

Size: 18.5 x 12 x 0.8 cm
Page: 50
Format: Paperback
Weight: 95g