From the gods in Paris

Maori art is part of an exhibition called ‘Pacific Encounters: Art and Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860’ at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris; 250 objects from the “Polynesian Triangle” isles – New Zealand, Hawaii and the Easter Islands – are included. A functional object becomes a work of art when an artisan makes something beautiful when it doesn’t have to be, whether it is an elegant fish hook carved out of bone from Hawaii, a nephrite ring made for the leg of a captive parrot in New Zealand, or a fan made of leaves, wood, human bone and coco fibre from the Marquesas Islands. Before coming to the du quai Branly, the exhibition was shown at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and then at the British Museum. “This really is worth going to Paris to see,” recommends the Telegraph. ‘Art and Divinity’ runs until September 14.