KEY POINTS:
A greenstone tiki sold at an auction in New York today for US$92,000 ($165,290) - more than US$40,000 above its estimated price.
The 16cm-tall tiki was one of five rare Maori artefacts to go under the hammer at an auction of African and Oceanic art at Sotheby's.
A similar pendant about half the size sold for US$15,000, which was within the auction estimate range, while a 43cm hand club which had an estimate of US$10,000 to US$15,000 sold for US$28,125.
A finely carved, lidded box sold for US$28,125, while a 186cm-tall Maori staff or taiaha sold for $3750 - both were within the estimated price range.
Other wooden artefacts from places such as Papua New Guinea and French Polynesia sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars each, while a 61cm-tall carved figure from Gabon in western Africa more than doubled its estimate and sold for US$1.058 million.
- NZPA
