The kumete whakairo was sold a second time about five years ago, Artvisory consultant James Parkinson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach time it\u2019s effectively doubled in price; the first time was about $65,000, the second about $160,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 19th-century presentation bowl, which was among only three of its kind made by Ng\u0101ti Pikiao master carver Patoromu Tamatea and gifted to former MP Robert Graham, could fetch up to $300,000 at auction. Photo \/ Artvisory<\/p>\n
However, that wasn\u2019t how the potential sale price of between $260,000 and $300,000 listed in the auction documents was calculated, Parkinson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t sold anything else as important as this … there are only three of these bowls and two are in museums \u2013 one in Auckland War Memorial Museum and one in Te Papa<\/a> … and they\u2019ve both been [historically] made into donation boxes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the most authentic of the three.\u201d<\/p>\n Museums, private collectors and iwi had contacted him about the auction, but he couldn\u2019t say for sure who might be among the bidders.<\/p>\n \u201cBuyers don\u2019t tend to declare their interest. You often don\u2019t know until the day.\u201d<\/p>\n The kumete whakairo is carved with two figures \u2013 each modelled in a crouching position \u2013 holding it in their outstretched arms and supporting it on their legs with their chins resting on the rim, Parkinson said.<\/p>\n \u201cEach figure with four-fingered hands and naturally rendered face [is] decorated with t\u0101 moko. The bodies of each [are] extensively carved with rauponga (notched ridges and parallel grooves) and pikorauru (spiral) designs.\u201d<\/p>\n Large figure-supported, lidded presentation bowls such as the one gifted to Graham were a departure from traditional forms, according to Te Papa\u2019s item details<\/a> for one of Tamatea\u2019s two other kumete whakairo.<\/p>\n \u201c[He] is attributed with the development of the carved presentation bowl, a developmental and innovative response to an increased demand for M\u0101ori carvings from Europeans during the 1850s and 1860s.\u201d<\/p>\nRobert Graham, pictured in 1860. The MP was gifted the Patoromu Tamatea-carved presentation bowl, now under auction, after negotiating an agreement between two warring chiefs. Photo \/ John Nicol Crombie, National Library<\/p>\n
Carver Patoromu Tamatea carved various figures, weapons, bowls, boxes, walking sticks and tobacco pipes for the tourist trade. Photo \/ Artvisory<\/p>\n