Tribal Art Sale at Dorotheum

Dorotheum will present a sale of tribal art and artifacts on May 26. The works on offer will represent a wide variety of cultures across the African continent, as well as a small assemblage of items from the South Pacific and the Americas.

For more information, view the online catalogue.

Mask  -  Vuvi, Gabon

Power figure  -  Songye, D.R. Congo

Ancestor skull  -  Asmat, Papua New Guinea

Images courtesy of Dorotheum

Tribal Art Sale at Lempertz

On January 27, Lempertz in Brussels will offer an unusually large number of lots in its winter sale, the particular strength of which will be Yoruba material from Nigeria. The most interesting group of pieces from the area comes from the collection of Jacques Vogelzang, one of the founders of the Vereniging Vrienden Etnografica (Friends of Tribal Art Association) in the Netherlands.

View the online catalogue.

Power figure, nkishi  -  Songye, D.R. Congo

Images courtesy of Lempertz

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

Sotheby's - The Collection of Allan Stone Pt. 2

On May 16, Sotheby's New York will present two important sales of tribal art: The Collection of Allan Stone: African, Pre-Columbian & American Indian Art - Volume Two and African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art Including Property from the Krugier and Lasansky Collections, featuring a wide selection of exquisite works from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Highlighting the second and final auction of The Collection of Allan Stone is a group of Songye power gigures and Kongo nail power figures from the Democratic Republic of Congo, including several by known hands.

View the online catalogue.

Power figure, nkisi nkondi - Kongo, DR Congo

Power figure, nkishi - Songye, DR Congo

Power figure, nkisi nkondi - Kongo-Yombe, DR Congo

Mask  -  Ibibio, Nigeria

Power figure - Kongo-Vili, DR Congo

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

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

Preview Exhibition at Sotheby's

Sotheby's Paris will host an exquisite preview exhibition of tribal art on September 10–14. Coinciding with the annual Parcours des Mondes, the installation will showcase highlights from the auctioneers' upcoming tribal art sales in November and December, the first of which will present African, Oceanic, and Indonesian masterpieces from the collection of Allan Stone.

Power figure, nkisi  -  Songye, D.R. Congo

Image courtesy of Sotheby's