Approved Appraisers

A very important aspect of the island nations throughout Oceania are the chants that have developed as “keepers” of history for the People. Art traditions, such as the method of stone building, stone carving, wood carving, weaving and other crafts, have carried on over time. Actual artifacts from earlier times are some of the rarest of all cultures due to these oral traditions of passing on through family lines. Many fine carvings from wood have disintegrated over time, though records of them may exist from visits from explorers from other countries entered the archipelagos.

As such, the fine art of assessing value for the surviving artifacts takes a great deal of expertise and association with the particular cultures involved. It is a rare combination.

The area involved is that of Island Nations covering a large geographical zone of more than 6,000 miles from North to South and 9,000 Miles from East to West within the Pacific Ocean.

The art of canoe carving is still revered today. Like other artists in wood, it is the mana, the life force, that flows through the artists into their work and from the word or stone into the artist. The large statues used for spiritual use and intimidation are good examples of this expression.

Since the number of artifacts is so few due to the tendency for oral history, the experts in this area for appraisal are very few. KOHRAC has selected the top individual we feel is immersed inside the cultures and who has not only the knowledge of the history, but has experienced the production of wood carving through mana himself, Reno G. H. Bruce, the South Pacific Islands Institution, as the Oceania appraiser for ancient Oceania artifacts.

Reno, known under the native name of Kelino Akiwai, is an accepted appraiser for Christie’s and has a long history of appraising and art production. The Nations of Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand and The Kingdom of Hawai`i bestowed the Indigenous title of Honorary Chief and Master Carver of Polynesian Arts and Crafts. He has been registered as an independent appraiser with The Kingdom of Hawai`i for nearly twenty (20) years. Reno is the leading world authority on Oceania artifacts, due to a lifetime of living within the cultures and producing art with native methods.

Reno was previously licensed through The Kingdom of Hawai`i directly until KOHRAC was formed by King Paki-Silva and the Department of Licensing was instituted. Reno’s previous Royal Patent Independent Appraiser License #2738 was grandfathered directly over to KOHRAC and is now listed in the KOHRAC Registry.