The Hei-Tiki pendant was discovered by auctioneer Christian King whilst looking through a box of miscellaneous items that was brought into the Blackminster sale room as part of a recent house clearance. Christian spotted the antique pendant and immediately recognised it to be a museum quality piece despite having a missing Mother of Pearl capsule around one of its eyes.
Catalogued and offered at a modest guide price during our April 20th Sale of Vintage, Preloved & General Items, the Māori artefact surpassed all expectations by reaching £3000 at the fall of the hammer.
“This was an exciting find, and certainly not an everyday occurance. What I’m particularly pleased about is that the Hei-Tiki was bought by a buyer in New Zealand and that it’s being repatriated to it’s place of origin”.
Christian King – Auctioneer, Saturday Auction
A Hei-Tiki is a neck pendant, (Hei meaning something hanging around one’s neck, and Tiki being a term referring to a carving of human form), worn by the Māori people of New Zealand. Generally regarded as an important heirloom connecting the wearer to their ancestors (‘Tupuna’) and passed down through the generations.
Hand carved from a green jade-like stone called Pounamu and found along the western seaboard of the New Zealand South Island, each Tiki is unique but share similar characteristics such as their head tending to tilt to one side and being of large proportion compared to their body and featuring large eyes which are usually inlaid with Pāua shell, (the Māori name for a species of large edible sea snail).