James Butterworth and the Old Curiosity Shop, New Plymouth, Taranaki: Tuhinga 16

Tuhinga 16: 93 - 126

ABSTRACT: James Butterworth established a successful Māori curio dealing business in New Plymouth during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The coastal Taranaki settlement of Parihaka was a favoured place to obtain artefacts for his shop. Butterworth produced three sales catalogues and many of the artefacts he sold carried important information regarding provenances and associations. Some of Butterworth’s artefacts found their way into the Canterbury Museum in 1896. Other items helped form the foundation of the taonga Māori collection of the Colonial Museum, Wellington. Locating where other items, which passed through Butterworth’s shop, are now held has proved very difficult. This study highlights the need for further analysis of curio dealers who operated within New Zealand and the artefacts in which they dealt.

KEYWORDS: history, James Butterworth, curio dealer, Parihaka, Canterbury Museum, Colonial Museum, New Plymouth Industrial Exhibition, New Zealand International Exhibition.