Tivaevae are a major source of creative expression and constitute important items of ceremonial exchange in the Cook Islands and its diaspora. It is believed that the art of sewing and the commercial cloth used to create these vibrant patchwork and appliqued textiles was introduced into the Cook Islands by the women of the London Missionary Society after their arrival in 1821. Alternatively, the practice of sewing tivaevae may have travelled to the Cook Islands via the missionary nuns from Tahiti where similar barkcloth traditions existed.

Anthropologists believe that pre-colonial century long traditions of using decorated barkcloth to wrap the body as a mark of status in ceremony in a number of Polynesian cultures, including the Cook Islands, would have laid the groundwork for the interest shown in textiles and the incorporation of tivaevae into the Cook Island material culture. Subsequently, tivaevae has flourished in the ceremonial and daily ritual of the Islands with new patterns and techniques being introduced by local makers.

Tivaevae are associated with significant events. The quilts have immense ceremonial value due to the time and care taken in their creation. Tivaevae are bought out and shown on beds and walls for important rites of passage including weddings, funerals and hair-cutting ceremonies for boys. Wedding tivaevae demonstrate that the bride is a woman of substance and skill, a valued member of her community and are emblematic of a transition from youth to adulthood. Prominently displayed at the marriage ceremony, stories are often related about the creation of the special tivaevae — a bonding experience for two merging families. At funerals the tivaevae are wrapped around the bodies of the deceased, then buried with them inside a concrete tomb close to the house, a symbol that links the past, present and the future. For the hair-cutting ceremony, the adolescent boy is wrapped in the brightly coloured cloth. Tivaevae are also often given as gifts of love to valued family members on these occasions.

Increasingly, tivaevae are also being made for exhibition, with artists like Tungane Broadbent exploring colour, line and design in bold, confident works. There are four varieties of tivaevae in the Cook Islands: ta'orei, tataura, tuitui and manu. This tivaevae is created in the ta'orei and manu styles. The ta'orei, created only in the Cook Islands, comprises small squares of fabric sewn together and then attached to a large piece of plain coloured ground. Labour intensive, these works were customarily designed on pandanus mats with the small square designs resembling the sections created by the pandanus warp and weft.

Chalice 2019 exemplifies this technique with the gridded design worked in a bold range of purples, golds and reds associated with royalty. Featuring an ornate goblet and patterns radiating from the centre of the design, the tivaevae speaks to the importance of chiefly lineages and faith in the Cook Islands. This quilt, like many of the Trivaevae patterns and forms, is inspired by the tropical environment of flowers, plants and foliage found in the Cook Islands and symbols associated with chiefly culture. These designs are mnemonic devices, evoking a sense of place, with the fabric, needles and stitches reimagining the Cook Islands lifestyle and customs.