An extremely rare kahu (cloak) made of kiwi feathers is going under the hammer on Thursday night.
The 160-year-old taonga is expected to fetch up to NZ$50,000.
But the auction of the kahu kiwi has certainly ruffled a few feathers.
Lying inside a room at Webb's Auction House is an incredibly special taonga - it's an exceptionally rare cloak made entirely of kiwi feathers.
"It's very rare to see a cloak of this quality and size to have almost all their kiwi feathers in place," said Benjamin Erren, spokesperson for Webb's Auctions.
It's believed to have been made in the 1800s, and the painstakingly handcrafted cloak ended up in Australia - where it's been for well over a century.
"The current vendor resides in Sydney and he decided it was time to return it home to Aotearoa. So that's when he got in touch with us," Erren told Newshub.
The piece goes under the hammer in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland on Thursday night.
"Given the price estimate, it's unlikely someone's going to walk off the street and say, 'Yes I'd love to buy that'. The person that's going to buy this is going to be a very serious collector," he said.
But Kahutoi Te Kanawa, Māori curator at Auckland Museum/Tāmaki Paenga Hira, isn't sold on it.
"It's priceless. It is absolutely priceless to us," she said.
The Museum doesn't want the cloak in the hands of private collectors and even offered to buy it to avoid that happening.
"What is the measure of commodification in a taonga that is imbued with such richness, as far as our cultural identity is concerned?" Te Kanawa asked.
Though the cloak is protected by a law that only allows for it to be sold in Aotearoa.
"Auckland War Memorial Museum or Te Papa will be able to follow and track the movement of this piece around Aotearoa," Erren added.
That would ensure the cloak at least remains on our shores where it belongs.
