Recently spotted at the latest Christie's Tribal art auction in Paris, Art d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, was this exquisite ritual carved Maori bird snare/ Mutu Manu. The snare is believed to be late 18th or early 19th Century from the East Coast of the North Island. Christie's notes it is a 'remarkable tour de force by a Maori master carver and almost without parallel', a description that is hard to disagree with.
While it failed to sell on the night it did find a buyer following the auction and sold for an impressive 141,670 pounds. The ritual bird snare was followed by a rare Maori carved flute/Putorino which sold for 108,335 pounds including buyers premium.
It is interesting to note the enormous prices paid to secure these treasures where prices far surpass those achieved in New Zealand. This is probably reflected by the mature tribal collectors market in Europe, particularly England and France, whose colonial presence in the Pacific focuses interest, and the greater pool of wealthier collectors with deep pockets who dominate these markets.
Photo courtesy of Christies.com

This fantastic Scottish Provincial cupboard exemplifies my love of antique furniture. The 19th Century mahogany cupboard on stand, designed as a castle complete with portcullis, and castellated top and towers captures the imagination with its Sir Walter Scott-esque,  medieval revival style that would surely appeal to any fan of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. It came with the following inscription 'Be Mindful, Loyal and Careful'. The cupboard highlights the unique character, quality craftsmanship and value for money that makes antique furniture a must have for any visually appealing interior that seeks to seperate itself from the bland form of many mid century style interiors.
Lot 218, priced at a reasonable $1,200 - $2,000 from UK based Mander Auctions, it reached top estimate when it sold to some keen eyed bidder this week.

As sure as night follows day, it doesn't take long following the death of a prominent celebrity before items relating to their life come on to the market. In this case, a lock of musician David Bowie's hair, consigned to auction by Wendy Farrier, ex employee of London attraction Madame Tussaud's, who collected a snippet of David Bowie' hair in 1983 in order to create a colour matched wig for his wax figure and kept the lock of hair as a souvenir. 
During the Georgian and Victorian periods it was popular for bereaved family members to turn locks of hair into highly stylised forms of momento mori displayed in lockets and brooches. These days a lot of people can find such antiques unsettling, however, for the music obsessed pop fan, what could be a better or more personal keep sake than than the artists hair.​
As a valuer, I'm always curious to see what kind of value the auction house puts on such unique items. In this case, Heritage Auctions, Los Angeles, estimated the lock of hair at US$4,000 before a flurry of bids took it to an impressive US$18,750 (premium inclusive).
Other notable hair sales include the 2010 offering by local auction house Art&Object of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair with a bullishly optimistic estimate of NZ$150,000 - $300,000, finally settling for a more realistic but still respectable NZ$19,0000.
Earlier this year Heritage Auctions sold a substantial lock of hair from John Lennon for US$35,000, but the world record goes to the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, achieving a monumental US$115,000!