Gottfried Lindauer

Pera Tutoko

Pera Tutoko by Gottfried Lindauer

Artwork Detail

It is said that Tutoko was in Opotiki in 1865 when Pai Marire prophet Kereopa Te Rau killed German Lutheran missionary Rev. Karl Volkner by hanging then decapitation. Legend has it that Kereopa conducted a service almost immediately afterward displaying Volkner’s head on the pulpit beside him. In a gripping moment, he plucked out the missionary’s eyeballs and swallowed them. The murder created great alarm and the Government captured and executed Kereopa in 1872. Tutoko was accused of being involved in the murder, but later cleared of any connection.

Title
Pera Tutoko
Artist/creator
Gottfried Lindauer
Production date
Unknown
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
983 x 836 x 70 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mr H E Partridge, 1915
Accession no
1915/2/25
Copyright
Copying restrictions apply
Department
New Zealand Art
Display status
On display

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