Decorative Arts
Decorative Arts
Webb’s Decorative Arts Department offers excellent knowledge and curation of a range of fascinating objects. Our online and live auctions present decorative arts covering a wide array of periods and styles from rare and designer furniture and home accents, applied arts, indigenous art and material culture, select single owner collections, and more.
Recent Online Auction
Material Culture Online
26—30 June
Our Material Culture Online auction is now accepting post auction offers. This sale is a celebration of history, bringing together rare items from around the globe and which represent a snapshot of human history across various cultures, eras and expert art and craft traditions.
Among its many impressive pieces are a series of woven items such as mats and kete, as well as textiles from the Pacific Islands, Africa, Japan and beyond. Likewise, the inclusion of stone figures and tools, and intricately carved wood objects—such as a spirit canoe from Papua New Guinea—means this sale has something special for nearly every material, historical and geographical predilection.
Explore textiles, artworks, tools, weapons, carvings, adornments, vessels, and even moa bones; all of which reach back through time and anchor us to places we may never have seen and people we may never know, yet to whom we are inescapably connected.
Leah Morris
Head of Decorative Arts
Upcoming Live Auction
Material Culture
Live Auction | Wednesday 12 November
Entries for our forthcoming Material Culture Live Auction are now being accepted to fill a growing demand for quality examples of indigenous art, carvings, textiles, personal adornments, tools, ceramics, metal work and others of similar rich cultural heritage and refined aesthetic.
These sales bring together outstanding selections of artforms with rich cultural significance that show the mastery and resourcefulness of indigenous artists that imbue multi-generational knowledge.
This auction promises to present another exceptional offering to a market eager to acquire at all levels.
For more information about buying and selling at our upcoming Material Culture auctions, get touch with our specialist team.
Leah Morris
Head of Decorative Arts
The Decorative Arts Department
Webb’s Decorative Arts Department offers excellent knowledge and curation of a range of fascinating objects.
Our online and live auctions present decorative arts covering a wide array of periods and styles from rare and designer furniture and home accents, applied arts, indigenous art and material culture, select single owner collections, and more. We have consistently seen high returns as more and more people look to the secondary market for unique and hard-to-find pieces.
We are continuing to see a strong demand for quality decorative arts, in particular mid-century modern furniture and postmodern design, showing the enduring value of considered craftsmanship within the secondary market. Our quarterly premium Design sales have proved immensely popular with both emerging and seasoned collectors alike, bringing together the best of the best from local and international designers. We are delighted to regularly handle design heavyweights such as Michel Ducaroy, Eames, Garth Chester, and Charlotte Perriand.
With a dedicated client base following our Material Culture auctions closely, we are reliably seeing incredible returns. One of our most notable recent sale results was the world record-breaking sale of a single huia feather, selling for $46,521 and breaking the previous world record by 450%. It is a privilege to be entrusted as temporary kaitiakitanga of these pieces and to showcase such a high calibre of taonga and indigenous art from around the world. It has been exciting to bring these important catalogues to life and achieve such phenomenal results.
These outstanding outcomes are testament to the unparalleled passion and commitment of our specialist team.
Leah Morris
Head of Decorative Arts
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Leah studied at the University of Auckland earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Ancient History in 2015. In 2017 she graduated with an Honours in Museum Studies and Cultural Heritage.Before coming to Webb’s in 2021, Leah’s most recent tenure was working as a Collection Technician at the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira for Human History in which she researched and catalogued the Social History, Applied Arts and Design, and World collections.
This experience shines through in her role as Head of Department where she expertly leads specialist Decorative Arts sales with utmost care and consideration for the full client experience.
Leah has a special interest in Material Culture and has set the benchmark for curating record-breaking sales. She is particularly interested in West African art, taonga, and indigenous art, as well as New Zealand studio pottery and glass.
