A greenstone tiki sold at an auction in New York today for US$92,000 ($165,290) - more than US$40,000 above its estimated price.
The 16cm-tall tiki was one of five rare Maori artefacts to go under the hammer at an auction of African and Oceanic art at Sotheby's.
Asimilar pendant about half the size sold for US$15,000, which was within the auction estimate range, while a 43cm hand club which had an estimate of US$10,000 to US$15,000 sold for US$28,125.
A finely carved, lidded box sold for US$28,125, while a 186cm-tall Maori staff or taiaha sold for $3750 - both were within the estimated price range.
Other wooden artefacts from places such as Papua New Guinea and French Polynesia sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars each, while a 61cm-tall carved figure from Gabon in western Africa more than doubled its estimate and sold for US$1.058 million.
