A Saqa-ni-wai Earthenware Vessel

Fijian earthenware pottery is an ancient craft dating back to the original settlers, the Lapita culture of 1000-900 BC. Pots were made by the women of the coastal, sea-faring clans and are constructed with slabs of clay which are assembled and paddled into shape using a technique known as “paddle and anvil”. The finished vessels are glazed with a resin from the Dakua tree which is poured on the pots while they are still hot from the firing.

Dakua is the local name for a genus of the Agathis, an ancient evergreen conifer that dates back to the Jurassic period. In New Zealand it is known as the Kauri.