UNIQUE hand-carved ANTIQUE Kauri Gum CARVING of two young Maori childeren reminiscent of the Gemini "TWINS" but with a NZ connection

These have been previously broken at the knees and glued back together (Kauri gum artworks are FRAGILE and if not preserved in a MUSEUM as these were ? MOST would not be still with us today)

I have attempted to show them clearly from every angle

I also have SEVERAL OTHER interesting gum pieces listed for sale so please do SEE my "Seller's Other Auctions"

The images on your computer screen should be "Larger than life"

NO RESERVE

NO "Buy it Now"

WEIGHT approx. 108.88 grams

PROVENANCE = Ex The Holloway private family MUSEUM in Whanganui city, North Island, New Zealand.

The entire collection of which, was auctioned-off last week in Wellington

Kauri gum is a fossilized resin detracted from kauri trees (Agathis australis), which is made into crafts such as jewellery

Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, before Maori and European settlers caused deforestation, causing several areas to revert to sand dunes, scrubs, and swamps. Even afterward, ancient kauri fields continued to provide a source for the gum and the remaining forests

Kauri gum formed when resin from kauri trees leaked out through fractures or cracks in the bark, hardening with the exposure to air. Lumps commonly fell to the ground and became covered with soil and forest litter, eventually fossilising. Other lumps formed as branches forked or trees were damaged, which released the resin

In 1898, the "Kauri Gum Industry Act" was passed, which reserved gum-grounds for British subjects, and requiring all other diggers to be licensed.

By 1910, only British subjects could hold gum-digging licences.