A superb Maori greenstone pendant, New Zealand

hei tiki, carved with stone tools from an adze blade, the tiki of massive proportions with head turned to the right and large circular inset black-lip pearl oyster (pinctada margaritifera) eyes, pierced with stone drill vertically from the back to the tip for suspension; one typed label ('Maori. Exh. U. St. Thomas, Houston. 1962.') and one printed label ('H.G. Beasley.') with '1091.' in grey ink on reverse; exceptionally fine patina with residue.

Samuel Fenton, London
Harry G. Beasley, Chislehurst, England, 1918
John J. Klejman, New York
Acquired from the above

Very good condition overall; upper half of upper eye broken, as seen on catalogue illustration; chip on forehead, as seen on catalogue illustration; minor nicks and scratches from wearing.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For other hei tiki of similar scale cf. one formerly in the collections of Harry G. Beasley and Baudouin de Grunne (Sotheby's, Paris, December 3, 2004, lot 31); another formerly in the collection of Bernard and Bertrande Bottet (Christie's, Paris, June 15, 2002, lot 236); and another, slightly smaller comparatively (15.5 cm) in the collection of the Auckland Institute and Museum (no. 5587) collected in 1795 by Matthew Flinders, who mapped most of the Australian coastline (Moko Mead, ed. 1984: 224, no. 148).

While the symbolic significance of the direction of the head is not clear, the chin to the left shoulder is most common, whereas the Rosenthal hei-tiki's chin is to the right shoulder.

In addition to the exceptionally large proportions of the Rosenthal hei-tiki, the overall shape conforms to that of an adze blade. The greenstone nephrite, called pounamu, is typical to New Zealand and Maori culture. The stone is found only on the South Island of New Zealand in parts of Westland and northwestern Otago (Skinner 1966: 5). According to Skinner: "The carrying back of heavy pieces of pounamu from Westland and from north-west Otago across the ranges to the villages along the east coast present difficulties. To save weight in transit, it appears very often to have been broken or sawn into adze shape at the nearest convenient point to the gravel bed from which it was recovered. [...] So, when eastern or northern villagers desired to make a hei-tiki, the only raw material available would often be an adze [...]. This may explain why in what may be called the orthodox form of hei-tiki, the outline of the human figure conforms to the outline of an adze. Following the cutting-edge, the legs are brought round in a flattened curve and their outer margin is sharpened. This sharpening is often retained even in hei-tiki which in other respects do not conform to adze shape" (ibid.:  10).

Pounamu is harder than iron—iron being less than 6 on the Mohr scale, nephrite is 6.5; carved without metal tools, a tohunga, or master-carver, would have taken months to complete a single hei-tiki. Boring the suspension appears to have taken the most time according to accounts compiled by Elsdon Best (1912). For this process, the cord-drill with a flint tip was used; see (ibid.: 82) for a sketch of the cord-drill. Best further describes the traditional cord-drill method: "The hole was bored from both sides, so as to meet in the middle, and the crude drill-point left two crater-mouthed holes of which the apices met. Some have a wider mouth than others, according to the thickness of the drill-point used. There appear to be no old implements that have been drilled by another process than [this]. Had the hand-twirling process, as used in America and Europe in Neolithic times, been known and practised by the Maori, we should assuredly have some evidence thereof in holes with straight sides [...]" (ibid. : 85). The Rosenthal hei-tiki bears a longitudinal double 'crater-mouth' suspension hole as described above, attesting to its considerable age and the arduous process of its manufacture.