May 22, 2024
Huia feather flies from auction
A single feather of the now-extinct huia bird fetched a price of $46,521.50 at auction Monday night, making it making it the world’s most expensive feather.
Leah Morris, the head of decorative arts at Webb’s Auction House in Auckland, says the huge bidder interest highlights the fragility of our ecosystem and the importance of looking after its fauna.
The feather went to a private New Zealand collector with the required permit from the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, as it cannot go out of the country.
The last credible sighting of a huia was in 1907.
Their feathers with the distinct white tip were important to Māori and were often worn as headpieces by chiefs and their families and also gifted or traded.
The previous record of $8,400 for a single feather was set in 2010, also by Webb’s, and last year a Victorian taxidermied pair of huia sold for $457,704 at a UK auction.
Other prices achieved at the material culture auction included a large hei tiki which fetched $10,157, a taiaha which sold for $9,560; and a pā kahawai fishing hook for $1,553.