Polynesian paddle makes waves by fetching record £220,000 at auction

A 100-year-old Polynesian paddle that was used as a household ornament has sold at auction for a record £220,000. Bidding for the ceremonial paddle, which comes from Easter Island and is known as a rapa, started at only £3,000, but buyers in London and Brussels sent its value rocketing past £200,000.

Tim Smith, of the Isle of Wight auctioneers Island Auction Rooms, in Shanklin, had placed a guide price of £10,000 on it. He said: “The previous record was just £40,000. It has spent a decade propped up in their [the sellers’] front room, so it is a remarkable find.”



Warren Riches, who led the sale, said: “When the money started going up there was a real buzz in the auction room. When it reached £10,000 everyone went quiet ... When bidding topped £150,000 people were wondering where it would stop.” The family heirloom was acquired in Polynesia in the 1920s by a relative who worked on board a P&O cruise liner.

Mr Riches said: “The owners, based on the Isle of Wight, were unaware that the paddle had fetched so much. “Tim went round to see them with a bottle of champagne and told them to sit down. He asked them what they thought it would fetch in — their wildest dreams — they said about £10,000.”