The Amy & Elliot Lawrence Collection

Maori Pendant, New Zealand, probably Bay of Plenty

Auction Closed

May 24, 03:58 PM GMT

Estimate

30,000 - 50,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Maori Pendant, New Zealand, probably Bay of Plenty

The reverse inscribed in white ink: “H.150” [the “H” largely effaced], and “Br. 955”

Height: 3 7/8 in (9.8 cm)

James T. Hooper, Arundel
Christie's, London, Hawaiian and Maori Art from the James Hooper Collection, June 21, 1977, lot 58
Robert M. Browne, Honolulu (inv. no. 955)
Mark and Carolyn Blackburn, Honolulu
Bonhams, New York, November 11, 2019, lot 302, consigned by the above
Acquired after the above auction

Steven Phelps, Art and Artefacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas: The James Hooper Collection, London, 1976, p. 150, pl. 18, cat. no. 150 (illustrated), and p. 414, cat. no. 150 (listed)
Charles W. Mack, Polynesian Art at Auction, 1965-1980, Northboro, Massachusetts, 1982, p. 133, pl. 52, no. 10
Adrienne L. Kaeppler, Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art, Honolulu, 2015, p. 160 and p. 340, fig. 456

There is wonderfully subtle detail in the finely modeled low relief carving of this hei tiki, the musculature and active posture of the figure captured within the fine-grained stone. When held up to the light, the pounamu, or greenstone, unveils another aspect of its beauty, its rich, somewhat dark colour transformed as it suddenly glows with a verdant luminosity.

The head, which has the rare turn to the left, has an almost skull-like appearance and the striking intensity of expression found in many hei tiki of this somewhat rare style, which is attributed to the Bay of Plenty on the northern coast of the north island. Discussing the present hei tiki, Adrienne Kaeppler noted that “the suspension hole at the top and the projections of the ears and beard suggest a Bay of Plenty origin” (Adrienne L. Kaeppler, Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art, Honolulu, 2015, p. 160).