Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Tahiti Tattoos: An Illustrated History of Tahiti's Ancient Tattoo Traditions

Tahiti Tattoos: An Illustrated History of Tahiti's Ancient Tattoo Traditions

Barbieri, Gian Paolo
Graffe, Raymond
Gnecchi, Luisa

Hardcover

Body Art & TattooingDrawing InstructionGeneral Racism & Ethnic Studies

Publisher Price: $45.00

PREORDER - Expected ship date September 28, 2026

ISBN10: 0764372173
ISBN13: 9780764372179
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Published: Sep 28 2026
Pages: 120
Weight: 0.10
Language: English
This book is a richly illustrated journey into the sacred art of Tahitian tattooing, tracing its origins, meanings, and enduring cultural power. Long before tattoos traveled the world, the people of Tahiti practiced tatau as a living language--one inscribed on skin to mark genealogy, social rank, spiritual protection, and personal identity. Each line, curve, and motif carried stories of gods, warriors, navigators, and the natural world.
Through vivid illustrations inspired by traditional designs and historical accounts, this book explores how tattoos were created using ancestral tools, natural pigments, and ceremonial rituals that bound the individual to the community. Readers will discover the deep symbolism behind iconic patterns and learn how tattooing functioned as both art and rite of passage.
The book also confronts a pivotal turning point: the arrival of European missionaries in the 18th and 19th centuries, when tattooing was suppressed and nearly lost. Yet tatau endured. In the modern era, Tahitian artists and cultural guardians have led a powerful revival, reclaiming tattooing as an expression of heritage, resistance, and pride.
Both an art book and a cultural history, Tahiti Tattoos honors the skin as a canvas of memory and the tattoo as a bridge between past and present.

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