The estate of food writing pioneer Tui Flower goes under the hammer in a series of remarkable auctions.
She was New Zealand's own Julia Child, opening the eyes of everyday Kiwi cooks to a culinary world beyond meat and two veg.
But pioneering food writer Tui Flower was also an avid collector with a discerning eye for quality.
Over decades, Flower and her parents and grandparents filled their Mt Eden family villa with a dazzling museum-quality array of antiques and artefacts.
And now, the collection, worth several hundreds of thousands, is going under the hammer, in what has been described as a "once-in-a-lifetime auctioneer's dream" that has sparked international interest.
Intricately-carved walking sticks and canes, antique horn and tortoise-shell snuff boxes, exquisite Shibiyama vases, Satsuma china, cloisonné artworks, pre-European pounamu hei tiki, and Anton Seuffert-crafted furniture, and even Flower's own Cornishware rolling pin make up the treasure-trove collection.
"Collections like this are incredibly rare," said Andrew Grigg of Cordy's Auctioneers of Remuera.
The long-time food editor of New Zealand Woman's Weekly passed away last August, aged 91.
When Grigg was asked to view Flower's estate, the experienced antique and art auctioneer had no inkling he was about to experience "the best house call I had ever in 30-plus years".
Tui Flower, her parents and grandparents, especially her grandfather William Mincher(1861-1944), amassed amazing collections of snuff boxes and bottles, fine Oriental jade, cloisonné, ivory, Satsuma, Maori artefacts, walking sticks, furniture and more. Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
The contents of Tui Flowers' Auckland house is up for auction. Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
"Arriving at her home fronted by a formal ironwork fence and large gate enclosing an overgrown but obviously once-loved garden, the stately villa with classical garden pots flanking the entrance all suggested that this one could be good," Grigg said.
"Her house was filled to overflowing with treasures, steeped in history and of high quality. It was astonishing."
Born in Matamata, Flower attended Epsom Girls' Grammar before graduating from the University of Otago's School of Home Science.
She furthered her education with cordon bleu courses in the United States and study at the École Hôtelière de Paris in 1954–55.
Her exposure to food journalism in the US, where food writer and TV chef Julia Child was adapting complex French cooking for ordinary households, helped inspire her to become food editor of the Woman's Weekly in 1965.
Tui Flower photographed in her Mt Eden kitchen in September 2016. Photo / File
She held the post until her retirement in 1984 and is credited with helping New Zealanders try new recipes and to not be scared of using garlic and wine in their cooking.
In retirement, Flower lived at the Mt Eden property owned by her maternal grandparents, who along with her parents, were also serious collectors.
In a 1939 pamphlet article about her grandfather William Mincher, it states: "From his infancy, he has yielded to his inborn desire to collect things."
A sale highlight is a walking stick made from jarrah timber of early British consular representative James Busby's house where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.
With a pounamu band and top, and engraved silver collar, the unique piece has an estimate of $1500.
Walking stick made from jarrah timber from James Busby's Residence which later became the Treaty House. Pounamu band and top, silver collar engraved "This Stick is Part of the House wherein the Treaty of Waitangi was signed 1840". Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
Other impressive auction items include about 80 snuff boxes, sperm whale teeth, an "extraordinarily-fine" Meiji-period Satsuma china vase by renowned artist Ryozan, a bronze statuette of nineteenth century American business Henry B. Hyde, and "oddities" like a 1940s Crown Lynn china Mickey Mouse jug.
"The whole Cordy's team have very much enjoyed the sorting, research, cataloguing and handling of these wonderful items," Grigg said.
A pair of spelter statuettes after Shakespearean Elizabethan characters. Height 385. Estimate: $400 Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
"Collections like this are rare. The depth and quality makes the series of upcoming auctions a highlight on the New Zealand scene."
The collections will be auctioned at Cordy's in two parts, on June 19 and July 17.
An extensive crockery collection. Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
A pair of Italian Pietra Dura tiles, one of a musician, the other a woman dancing, both in old oak frames. 230 x 115. Estimate: $450 Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
An Eastern silver filigree card case decorated with flowers. 50 x 85. Estimate: $150 Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
A vintage cast-iron Greedy Boy money box, red jacket, made in England. Estimate: $220 Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
An antique concertina a small hexagonal concertina in original rosewood box, mother-of-pearl keyhole escutcheon. 200 x 120. Estimate: $150 Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
A collection of walking sticks. Photo / Cordy's Auctioneers
