going up for auction in Australia
A rare Charles Frederick Goldie painting depicting a Ngāpuhi chieftainess is going under the hammer in Australia, but a Māori rights expert has warned of the impact of the sale on the subject’s descendants.
Reverie: Ena te Papatahi, a Ngapuhi Chieftainess (Ina Te Papatahi, Ngāpuhi), was completed in 1916 and depicts Te Papatahi seated upon a paepae (carved threshold) at the front of a wharenui (meeting house).
Te Papatahi was an expert on tukutuku panels and weaving, and was the niece of Tāmati Wāka Nene, one of Aotearoa’s most influential rangatira (a Māori chief or noble).
It is valued at up to AUD $1.5 million (NZ$1.61m) and is being auctioned by Smith & Singer in Sydney in May.
Link to video and article: Concerns about rare $1.61m Goldie painting going up for auction in Australia | Stuff.co.nz
