THE National Gallery of Australia has been awarded the Prix International du Livre d’art Tribal 2014 Award for “Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia”, the 256-page book accompanying this year’s exhibition at the gallery of largely ancient Pacific art.

The prize is awarded annually and judged by a panel of leading art professionals, recognises quality, diversity and richness in publishing in the field of tribal arts.

The author Michael Gunn, the Senior Curator of Pacific Arts at the NGA and a noted scholar in the field, says, “We are delighted to receive such a prestigious award for our exhibition catalogue which includes extraordinary works of art drawn from many regions in Polynesia.”

“Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia” explores the Polynesian concept of ‘Atua’ – gods, the book says, that are “amenable to human attention,” which were developed over thousands of years. It features examples of sculpture  provide island-by-island, from places as different as Rapa Nui, The Cook Islands, the Marquesas and many other Polynesian islands.

Contributors to the book were Katherine Aigner, Matiu Baker, Fr Nicola Mapelli, Eruera, George Nuku and Carl FK Pao.