Leonati sells his work direct to the public from his stall at the Handicraft Market in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga. Visit him here to purchase one of his orginal carvings, or to discuss a custom made artwork.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Leonati - Artist to the King
Artistry runs in Leonati Motuliki's family. It was his father, a jeweller and a farmer, who first noticed Leonati's own creative talent when the young boy started carving small three dimensional sea creatures out of turtle shell and mother of pearl. Fakatava Motuliki quietly took and sold these pieces at the market in Vava'u in order to buy supplies to encourage the budding artist.
Having discovered oil painting at the age of twelve, Leonati later left the island group of Vava'u to pursue an education in art at the College of Nuku'alofa. Here, Leonati specialised in painting. However on returning to Vava'u he reverted once again to carving, the creative skill that started his journey into artistry.
Today Leonati's skill and artistry are renowned not just in the Kingdom of Tonga, but internationally as well with his work featuring in collections across Europe and America. His well travelled international clients are quick to recognise the quality of the intricate work produced by this Tonga Master Carver.
Career highlights for Leonati include:
- 1978 - Invited to display his work and share his skills at the Art Festival of Hawaii.
- 1981 - Commissioned by the Royal Family of Tonga to create a unique gift for the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer (Using black coral, he carved a delicate nest with two birds alighting to feed their young and mounted it on a base of Tongan sandalwood).
- 2008 - Inducted into the Order of Queen Salote Topou at the coronation of King George Topou V in recognition of his contributions to the arts in Tonga.
- 2010 - Travelled to Shanghai, China, to participate in the World Expo as a Tonga Master Carver (Leonati's wife Anni joined him as a demonstrator of Tongan tapa and woven items).
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