A portrait of a Maori chief by New Zealand artist Charles F Goldie which sold at Mossgreen-Webb in Auckland for NZ$869,500 (£464,072) including buyer’s premium.
The 1941 oil on canvas, Pai Te Kai Paipa, or Portrait of Te Hei, featuring a pipe-smoking chief, was consigned by UK-based descendants of New Zealand-born officer Major Charles Passmore.
An Australian agent bought the picture at a Lyon & Turnbull sale in November 2016 for £165,000 (£203,000 including buyer’s premium) and promptly consigned the picture to Mossgreen-Webb’s April sale in Auckland.
Expected to sell for NZ$500,000-700,000, it went to a local bidder in the room at the auction for NZ$869,500 (£464,072) including buyer’s premium.
