Although the origins of Maori art lie in the traditions of eastern Polynesia, over half a millennium of isolated development has resulted in a unique richness and diversity. Eastern Polynesia has no suitable clay, so Maori forebears had already lost the skills of pottery and focused their talents on wood, stone and weaving, occasionally using naturalistic designs but most often the highly stylized forms that make Maori art unmistakable.

As with other taonga (treasures), many superb examples were taken out of the country by Victorian and later collectors, but there is a determined move on the part of iwi and the Department of Maori Affairs to restore as many taonga as possible to New Zealand, including over a hundred severed heads which are scattered through museums all over the world.