Mother-of-pearl shell carved as a souvenir of Tahiti - Lot 66

Mother-of-pearl shell carved as a souvenir of Tahiti On one side, a view of Papeete by Émile Broquin (1850-1920) depicting Matavai Bay and Notre Dame Cathedral from an 1880 postcard of the city. On the other, a portrait of Pōmare V (written "Pomarès" on the mother-of-pearl), King of Tahiti, from the official photo of 1885, a copy of which is kept at the New Zealand Museum. So-called convict work from the penal colony of New Caledonia circa 1885-1890 Note: Pōmare V (1839-1891) was the last king of Tahiti and Moorea. Crowned in 1877, he ceded his kingdom in 1880 to the French protectorate set up by his mother. His decision was approved by all Tahitian chiefs, and the colony of Tahiti joined the French Overseas Territories, which became French Polynesia in 1957. In exchange, the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor in 1880.