KEY POINTS:
Are art buyers - and particularly those who buy to invest - shifting their interests?
Dunbar Sloane jnr, of the eponymous auction house, suggests so following a November sale in Auckland. But it's too early to tell.
That sale had a rather meagre art section, under 100 lots,
but struggled a bit to find bids matching reserves.
But Maori artefacts and New Zealand memorabilia, including jewellery and fine inlaid timber pieces by such craftsmen as Anton and William Seuffert, attracted very strong interest.
For instance, a record price - $11,500 ($13,116 with buyer's premium and GST) - was claimed for New Zealand-made jewellery.
That was set for an arts and crafts necklace by Elsie Reeve in coral and silver. The estimate was $1500 to $2500.
An 18th-century Maori stone sinker sold for $8500 ($9695), also a record for such an object. A pre-European canoe prow, found in Taranaki in the 1920s, went for $54,000 ($61,592).
Interest in such objects, part of the national heritage, is high, especially since the revision of the old Antiquities Act, now the Protected Objects Act.
The highest price in the art was negotiated after the sale, $65,000 ($74,139) for an attractive Pat Hanly from his Showgirl series.
Sloane's did rather better with another Hanly at its recent Wellington sale, reaching an artist-record of $120,000 ($136,872).
Exceptional works will still find buyers, even if the market is rather down from two or three years ago.
Cordy's sold most of its November offering, with New Zealand pottery doing very well. Top price went to a Petrus Van der Velden portrait of a woman with a viola, at $15,500 ($17,243).
Attendance was quite low at both auctions, with those present often reaping the benefit of bargains.
Webb's sale of the Jim Fraser collection saw many artist records set, including for Peter Robinson ($54,000 ($61,592), Julian Dashper ($20,000), and Peter Peryer ($6000 - a record price for a single photographic image).
The same house has a solid, well-varied sale next week, with about 130 lots, to round off the year.
Highlights include a rare Brent Wong enigmatic landscape with floating object, a McCahon waterfall and a fine big work by John Pule.
The catalogue cover shows a detail of a lovely work in watercolour and pastel by Russell Clark. Showing a Maori mother and child, it has a weighty presence reminiscent of Henry Moore.
Some notable sculpture, including Pool (Colony series) by Virginia King and pieces by Paul Dibble, Para Matchitt and Neil Dawson, is also on offer.
Finally, the art scene promises to become even more lively and competitive next year. Three of Webb's stalwarts - Ross Millar, James Parkinson and Ben Plumbly - have left to set up their own auction house.
Plumbly (son of antiques expert Trevor), whose interests lie mainly in contemporary art and photography, arrived a couple of years back from Dunedin to strengthen Webb's art department.
Millar (modern design) and Parkinson (oriental art and design) had both been with Webb's for around 14 years.
They plan premises on the other side of town - Ponsonby, Newton, K Rd, according to Plumbly - and will specialise in modern and contemporary work. With Cordy's art department revitalised under new owner Andrew Grigg and the new, as yet unnamed, house, expect some fireworks in 2007.
Coming up:
Tuesday, Dec 5: Webb's, fine art; Cordy's, antiques and art.
Wednesday, Dec 6: Webb's, jewellery.
Thursday, Dec 7: Webb's, decorative arts.