Charles Goldie oil painting of Kapi Kapi to go under the hammer tonight

The Weariness of the Aged goes under the hammer tonight. Photo / Supplied

An oil painting by renowned New Zealand artist Charles Goldie of Maori chieftainess Ahinata Te Rangituatini goes under the hammer tonight at auction.

The painting, The Weariness of the Aged, will be offered for sale tonight at the International Art Centre in Parnell and is estimated to fetch at least $350,000.

It has attracted wide interest partly because of the rare spiral nostril tattoo Ahinata Te Rangituatini, also known as Kapi Kapi, had.

Kapi Kapi was a member of the Tuhourangi tribe and survived the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera and is believed to be the only Maori woman painted by Goldie.

Earlier this year a similar Goldie painting of Kapi Kapi unknown to the art world for 100 years sold for $456,000, nearly twice it's predicted price.

Charles Goldie circa 1905. Photo / File

Director of the International Art Centre Richard Thomson said there has been a wide interest in the painting and Goldie's paintings are always popular at auction.

"This year has been an incredible year for sales of quality New Zealand art and there seems to be no waning in interest," he said.

"Buyers see art not only as a financial investment but also as the opportunity to appreciate some of the finest works of art New Zealand painters have produced.

"Goldie's talent was recognised even when he was a young art student in Paris in the late 19th century and he is always hugely popular, but next week's sale is a catalogue of some of New Zealand's very best."

The catalogue includes other significant New Zealand works by artists such as Dick Frizzell, Garth Tapper, Ralph Hotere and Karl Maughan.

The auction begins at 7pm tonight at the International Art Centre in Parnell