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Price of a Pacific Princess

Episode:114Te Papa Collection:Art and Photography

Suggested curriculum levels:3 – 8

Curriculum connections:English: Listening, Reading, and Viewing, The Arts: Understanding the Arts in Context Communicating and Interpreting

Description:What is a princess worth? The Tale tells of two occasions when a price was paid for a Pacific princess. Find out who paid, and what she was worth – then and now.

Questions for students

  1. Why does Riria Hotere introduce this Tale by showing her own travel photos? What point is she making?
  2. What was the 'price' that Captain Cook demanded for the princess? Why did he do this?
  3. What was the price that Te Papa paid for the princess? What two factors make the portrait of Poedua so valuable?
  4. Compare the prices paid for some art works with the fees paid to top movie stars and supermodels. Why do you think the prices for these are so high? What does it say about the things we value?
  5. What questions does this Tale raise for you? For example, you may have questions about the value of art, the conservation process or the ways in which Europeans regarded people in the lands they 'discovered' over 200 years ago. Use the 'Key questions' response template to record your questions, then use the Tale and other sources to find answers.

Related templates:

Key questions