Material Culture: Across Time and Place
Webb’s May Material Culture live auction catalogue brings together works that move across time, geography, and meaning, reflecting the dynamic lives of objects shaped by exchange, encounter, and continuity. In this catalogue forward, Head of Decorative Arts Leah Morris speaks about highlights and themes of this curation.
Crossings Between Past, Present, and Place
Spanning Oceania and beyond, this selection reflects material culture as active—shaped by relationships between people, land, and time.
He taonga nō ngā tūpuna, he koha mō ngā uri whakatipu.
(A treasure handed down from the ancestors is a gift for future generations)
Material culture does not sit still. It moves across oceans, through hands, between use and meaning gathering both narratives and interpretations as much as patinas and age.
Leah Morris, Head of Decorative Arts
“The objects gathered in this catalogue are not fixed in the past, but rather serve as evidence of motion, exchange, and encounter. They speak not only to where they come from, but to the journeys they have taken and the shifting contexts that continue to shape them. This auction brings together works that exist at the fertile intersection of presence and absence. Some are fragments of cultures irrevocably altered, others are enduring expressions of continuity.”
Each carries a duality: they are at once grounded in specific places and histories, yet also untethered, having travelled far beyond their points of origin. To engage with them is to navigate these tensions between reverence and curiosity, preservation and change. Among the highlights is an extraordinary male huia, a taxidermy specimen of one of Aotearoa’s most storied and now extinct birds.
The huia bird in this auction embodies both cultural significance and ecological loss. Its presence in this catalogue is arresting, and is a reminder of what has disappeared, and of the layered meanings objects can accumulate over time.
Lot 39. A Taxidermy Male Huia, Aotearoa. EST. $20,000—$40,000
Lot 26. A Paddle, Austral Islands. EST. $15,000—$18,000
From the Austral Islands, a finely carved paddle suggests a function beyond the utilitarian. Its surface, densely worked with intricate patterning, points to a ceremonial role. This is an object made to be seen, to signify, and to embody status and cultural expression as much as form.
In contrast, a shield from the Central Desert of Australia speaks to protection and assertion; a surface alive with pattern, carrying stories of country, kinship, and survival in one of the world’s most demanding environments.
These works, though disparate in geography and purpose, share a common thread: they are shaped by relationships between people and land, maker and material, object and meaning. They remind us that material culture is not passive; it is active, performative, and often deeply political, even when its language is quiet. This offering spans continents and centuries, and reflects not only the diversity of global traditions, but also the complex pathways through which these objects have been collected, preserved, and presented.
As always, we acknowledge the responsibility inherent in this role as temporary custodians of works that carry deep cultural weight. We invite you to engage with this catalogue not as a static collection, but as a series of crossings between past and present, origin and destination, object and observer. In doing so, perhaps we come closer to understanding not just the objects themselves, but the worlds they continue to inhabit.
Lot 8 . A Central Dessert Shield, Australia.
EST. $6,000—$8,000
Auction Highlights
Lot 1. A Mako Shark Tooth Pendant, Aotearoa.
EST. $500—$800
Lot 22. Lot 22 An 18th Century Pounamu Mere, Aotearoa.
EST. $30,000—$35,000
Lot 38. A Large Kauri Gum Bust, Aotearoa.
EST. $10,000—$13,000
Lot 16. A 19th Century Waka Hoe with Kowhaiwhai Design, Aotearoa.
EST. $4,000—$8,000
Lot 59. A Cast Bronze Alloy Ram, Nigeria.
EST. $800—$1,200
Lot 4. A No'oanga Chief Stool, Cook Islands.
EST. $2,000—$3,000
If you are considering the sale of a single object or a broader collection, or would like to understand more about the processes involved in valuation, consignment, and auction, our specialists are available to assist.
At Webb’s Mount Eden Gallery, we work closely with collectors, estates, and institutions to ensure that objects are approached with the care and contextual understanding they require. This includes research, cataloguing, and presentation, as well as guidance through the auction process.
We welcome enquiries at any stage, whether you are seeking a complimentary appraisal or simply wish to begin a conversation about the stewardship and future of material culture within your care.
11.05.26
Material Culture | Live Auction
Location
33a Normanby Road, Mount Eden
Contact
Leah Morris | Head of Decorative Arts
leah@webbs.co.nz | +64 22 574 5699
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