Finely Carved Tokotoko with Ancestral Figures and Paua Shell Eyes

A rare, finely carved tokotoko (ngati tamateatutahi, ngati pikiao), (ceremonial walking stick), the upper section at the base of the handle with an ancestral figure carved in low relief. The face naturalistically rendered with ta moko. One arm with four fingered hand placed to the abdomen. The other hand holding a patu. The reverse of the stick with a second figure placed lower down the shaft and also rendered in low relief. Carved with a wheku head with protruding tongue and with hands placed to abdomen. Each figure with paua shell eyes and decorated with rauponga (notched ridges and parallel grooves) the shaft further decorated with rauponga and with intersecting spiral and koru forms and inset with circular paua shell discs. Metal cap to the base of the stick. Some small losses to each figure, tokotoko carved by Patoromu Tamatea are rare and pieces of this quality are rarely offered on the open market. The carving on this tokotoko is similar in fineness and quality to the carving on the kumete by Tamatea offered in our April sale which achieved a record price for a Maori Artefact offered in New Zealand. A similar example to this tokotoko is held in the Auckland war Memorial Museum collection. Provenance: Private Collection America. Recently repatriated to New Zealand from America, 93 cm length.