Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: My mother was born and raised in New Zealand, and she was a war bride when she came over from New Zealand to live here in the States.

This was a piece she brought with her.

It was hanging on our wall in our living room for a number of years.

It didn't belong to her family, somebody gave it to her.

APPRAISER: And was it kept in a, in a cherished place (chuckles) or was it just left in a drawer or...?

GUEST: We... I was told it was a fertility symbol.

We didn't have a lot of children, (chuckling) so I don't know if that... APPRAISER: Ah.

GUEST: No, I kept it in a drawer for the last 20 years in a box.

APPRAISER: Well, it is, in fact, a, uh, fertility object, uh, from the M£ori of New Zealand.

This is a very beautiful example.

Many of these today that you see are actually, have been made as copies, fakes, in the last, uh, 30, 40, 50 years.

Uh, I am quite certain, 100% certain, that this is actually... a-a-a real tiki, as they're called, M£ori tiki, um, made from greenstone or jade.

It is, in my opinion, that it dates to certainly before 1850 or the first part of the 19th century, and it possibly is 18th century.

I've been able to ascertain its date based on a couple of things.

The amount of wear here around this hole.

These were worn strung around the neck, and over time, the-the neck cord would actually wear away the jade, giving you this sort of rounded impression.

One of the things we look for, uh......or specialists in this area and collectors in this area look for is, uh, the, the sculptural quality of these.

Uh, some of them are flat, uh, much flatter.

This one has nice size and volume to it.

It's rounded area in the belly.

In terms of valuing objects like this, larger examples tend to be worth a little more.

The record price for a tiki of this type is in excess of $60,000 American dollars.

GUEST: Excuse me?

APPRAISER: That is the record, uh, in... GUEST: Was that 6-0?

$60,000.

APPRAISER: $60,000 American dollars.

It is, in my opinion, that your example here has a fair market value of somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 American dollars.

GUEST: Amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

To think it was hanging on the wall.

APPRAISER: By this cord.

(chuckling) GUEST: By that cord!