Tribal Art Sale - Cornette de Saint Cyr

Cornette de Saint Cyr will present a sale of tribal art and artifacts in Paris on March 9. Highlighting extracts from the collections of Franco Ignazio Castelli and Mr. & Mrs. M-O, the auction lots will comprise a range of works from Papua New Guinea, Central Africa, and elsewhere.

View the online catalogue.

Hook figure  -  Sawos, Papua New Guinea

Charm figure  -  Inyai-Ewa, Papua New Guinea

Stool  -  Dogon/Tellem, Mali

Images courtesy of Cornette de Saint Cyr

Tribal Art Auction - Arte Primitivo

Arte Primitivo presents a new auction of fine pre-Columbian, African and tribal art and classical antiquities, including items from the Allan Stone Collection and other owners. Over 500 lots will be on exhibition in the Arte Primitivo gallery beginning February 16. All works are also viewable online at www.arteprimitivo.com

African Art Sale - Artcurial

Artcurial will present a sale of fine African art today in Paris. The collections of Liuba and Ernesto Wolf and Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hendrickx of Brussels will be offered, the highlights including a rare and beautiful Luba figural pipe and masks from the Guro and Baule.

View the online catalogue.

Images courtesy of Artcurial

Les Affinités Électives d'Alexis Bonew at Sotheby's

On December 10, Sotheby's will present the African art collection of Alexis Bonew in Paris. Composed in an epic manner, this collection of art from the Congo reveals the work of a humanist spirit, a lover of ancient civilisations, ancient languages, Classical and African culture; a man whose appreciation for beauty consisted as much of philosophy and science as of feeling.

View the online catalogue.

Power figure  -  Songye, D.R. Congo

Muminia mask  -  Lega, D.R. Congo

Cannabis mortar  -  Luluwa, D. R. Congo

Ivory figure  -  Lega, D.R. Congo

Power figure  -  Kongo, D.R. Congo

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

The Myron Kunin Collection at Sotheby's

On November 11 in New York, Sotheby's will put before the bidders the remarkable collection of Myron Kunin (1928 – 2013), who amassed one of the finest private assemblages of African art in the world. The collection includes masterpieces from all regions of sub-Saharan Africa, and is particularly strong in works of great refinement and classical beauty originating from Ivory Coast, Gabon, and the Congo. 

View the online catalogue.

Maternity  -  Kongo-Yombe, D.R. Congo

Janus-headed power figure  -  Songye, D.R. Congo

Female figure  -  Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire or Burkina Faso

Reliquary head  -  Fang-Betsi, Gabon

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

Helena and Ladislas Segy Collection at Arte Primitivo

Beginning September 29, Arte Primitivo will put to auction the African art collection of Helena and Ladislas Segy, along with other fine works. 

View the online catalogue.

African and Oceanic Art Sale at Lempertz

Lempertz will present a sale of fine African and Oceanic art and artifacts in Brussels on January 28. The lots will comprise a wide range of African masks and statuary, New Guinea carvings, and much more.  

View the online catalogue.

Images courtesy of Lempertz Auktionen

The Allan Stone Collection at Sotheby's

On November 15, 2013, Sotheby’s will present The Collection of Allan Stone: African, Oceanic, and Indonesian Art—Volume One, the first of two sales of the tribal art collection of the legendary New York art dealer. A second sale of equal size will be held in November 2014. Sotheby’s believes that this is the most significant African and Oceanic art collection to be offered in New York since the Helena Rubinstein auction in 1966. Many of the works to be offered have been included in publications and museum exhibitions. A small selection from the collection was the subject of the 2011 exhibition Power Incarnate: Allan Stone’s Collection of Sculpture from the Congo at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. Among the highlights of the collection is an exceptional group of Songye power figures and Kongo nail figures from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—two of the most iconic genres of African art.

View the online catalogue.

Power figure  -  Kongo/Yombe, D. R. Congo

Warrior mask  -  Kuba, D.R. Congo

Kifwebe mask  -  Songye, D. R. Congo

Power figure  -  Songye, D. R. Congo

Power figure  -  Songye, D. R. Congo

Power figure  -  Songye, D. R. Congo

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

African Art Sale - Leclere

Auctioneers Leclere of Marseilles will present a sale of traditional art and artifacts from Africa on June 15. For more information on the assemblage of over 100 lots of figurative, ritual, and utilitarian art from the continent, view the online catalogue.

Ngil mask  -  Fang, Gabon

Shoulder mask  -  Baga, Guinea

Mask  -  We, Côte d'Ivoire

Mask  -  We, Côte d'Ivoire

Seated female figure  -  Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire

Images courtesy of Leclere

African and Oceanic Art Sale at Native

Native Auctions of Brussels presents a sale of fine African and Oceanic art and artifacts today, June 8. Among the lots are an array of ritual artifacts, statuary, and ornaments from New Zealand, Burkina Faso, Vanuatu, Mali, Papua New Guinea, and many other locales.  

View the online catalogue.

Hei tiki  -  Maori, New Zealand

Altarpiece with figures  -  Dogon, Mali

Figure  -  Lobi, Burkina Faso

Slit drum  -  Ambrym, Vanuatu

Mask  -  Dan, Côte d'Ivoire

Images courtesy of Native Brussels

Tribal Art at Sotheby's - May 11, 2012

Sotheby's will present a two-part sale of fine tribal art and artifacts on May 11, 2012.  The African art collection of the late Dr. Werner Muensterberger will comprise a significant portion of the auction, showcased alongside a host of other exquisite lots from the Lerner, Shoher, and Vogel Collections. 

Visit the official Sotheby's website.

Helmet mask  -  Luluwa, D.R. Congo

Stone head  -  Sapi (Proto-Temne), Sierra Leone

Male torso  -  Mbembe, Cross River Region, Nigeria

Reliquary figure  -  Kota, Gabon

Ancestor figure  -  Buyu, D.R. Congo

Portrait mask  -  Baule, Côte d'Ivoire  -  Totokro Master

Zigzag figure  -  Bamana, Mali

Information and images courtesy of Sotheby's

Rare, Newly Re-Discovered African Art Masterpiece to be sold at Sotheby's London in February 2011

On February 17 2011, Sotheby's will sell a rare, newly re-discovered, 16th century ivory pendant mask depicting the head of the Queen mother from the Edo peoples, Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria along with five other rare works from Benin collected at the same time. 

Only four other historical ivory pendant masks with related iconography of this age and quality are known – all of which are housed in major museums around the world. All of the ivory masks are widely recognized for the quality of their craftsmanship, for the enormous scale of Benin’s artistic achievement and for their importance in the field of African art. Produced for the Oba (or King) of Benin, these ivory pendant masks are testament to the Kingdom of Benin’s golden age when the kingdom flourished economically, politically and artistically. 

The masks rank among the most iconic works of art to have been created in Africa. The mask to be sold at Sotheby’s in February is estimated at £3.5-4.5* million. It had been on public view in 1947 as part of a loan exhibition at the Berkeley Galleries in London entitled ‘Ancient Benin’, and then again in 1951 in ‘Traditional Sculpture from the Colonies’ at the Arts Gallery of the Imperial Institute in London. 

The mask and the five other Benin objects will be sold by the descendants of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Lionel Gallwey (in 1913 he changed his name to Galway) who was appointed deputy commissioner and vice-consul in the newly established Oil Rivers Protectorate (later the Niger Coast Protectorate) in 1891. He remained in Nigeria until 1902 and participated in the British Government’s “Punitive Expedition” of 1897 against Benin City. The faces of the five known pendant masks have been interpreted widely by scholars of Benin art as that of Idia, the first Queen Mother of Benin. 

The mother of the Oba Esigie (c. 1504 – 1550), Idia was granted the title of Iyoba (Queen Mother) by Esigie in recognition of her help and counsel during his military campaigns. Idia remains a celebrated figure in Benin, known as the ‘only woman who went to war’. The masks were created at least in part as objects of veneration. The worn and honey-coloured surface of the offered mask attests to years of rubbing with palm oil, and surface as well as the style of carving is most similar to the example in The Seattle Art Museum. 

The mask comes to auction together with: a highly important carved tusk made with a group of other similarly carved tusks for the altar of an Oba who lived in the 18th century. The imagery presented depicts emblems of power and strength which are related to the life of the Oba himself. The iconography is specific, and can be seen repeated across many arts forms in Benin, including the well-documented bronze plaques. The collection also includes two richly carved ivory armlets which incorporate many of the panoply of motifs used by the artists of the Igbesanmwan, the Royal Guild of ivory carvers. 

As with most ivory carvings, these were more than likely made for an Oba, as he would have had complete control over the production of works of art made from precious ivory. Also in the collection is a rare bronze armlet, cast with Portuguese figures in an openwork motif. The earliest appearance of the Portuguese in plaques and free-standing figures and bracelets in the 16th and 17th century was undoubtedly calculated by the Benin to add considerable prestige to the Oba and his courts demonstrating that his power extended beyond the confines of his own people. 

Finally, the collection includes a very rare bronze sculpture of a type historically identified as tusk stands. The twisted and hollowed form of this stand suggests it served the same function as the more familiar bronze commemorative heads, as a stand for a carved ivory tusk on an altar created to honour a former ruler. 

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium

Source: ArtDaily.org

The Collection of Robert Bleakley to be sold May 31 at Mossgreen

Mossgreen is delighted to offer the private collection of one of the most well-known figures in the Australian auction scene: Robert Bleakley. Robert founded Sotheby’s in Australia back in the 1980’s and before that he headed their tribal art department in London. As you will see from the collection online now, the auction is diverse and eclectic and reflects Robert’s many and varied interests. Highlights include Oceanic and Aboriginal art and artifacts as well as Scandinavian glass and European antiques.

Phillips de Pury Auction To Be A celebration Of African Art

Phillips de Pury's forthcoming Africa art sale and exhibition takes place on May 15 in New York.
The sale will include works of contemporary art, photographs, design and editions which reflect the spirit of the continent and its global impact.

Works to be featured in the expo will be by African and non-African artists from around the world.

Lempertz Tribal Art Auction in Belgium This Week

Featuring African and Oceanic Art from an old Belgian Collection and other private owners, Lempertz will be hosting its Tribal Arts Auction in Brussels on Saturday, April 24th. The preview is going on now and will run until just before the auction.

Below are some lots up for for sale. Visit www.lempertz.com for more details.

$73,000 Enwonwu Leads US African Art Sale

The first commercial auction of African contemporary art ever held in the US took place in New York on March 10.

The highlight piece of this Bonham’s auction was Africa Dances, Eve Noir, 1972, by Ben Enwonwu.

With a lower estimate of $60,000, the watercolor and pastel on board eventually brought a comfortable $73,200.

Enwonwu was a pioneer of the modern art movement in Western Africa, and the sale should gain his work increased prominence in the US - and global - art markets.