Christie's Tribal Art Preview in Paris

On September 8–15, set to coincide with this year's edition of Parcours des Mondes, Christie's is exhibiting a selection of highlights from their upcoming December sale of African, Oceanic and Native American art in Paris. The installation, on view at 9 ave Mantignon, will feature a range of fine tribal works, including a Fang figure from the collection of André Fourquet.

Purchase the sale catalogue.

Male figure  -  Fang, Gabon

Image courtesy of Christie's 

Tribal Art Sale at Sotheby's

Sotheby’s will hold its spring sale of art from Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas in New York on May 15. It will be led by a rare Pende helmet mask that was featured in the 1984 Primitivism show at MOMA. Also featured will be highlights from the New York estate of the late Helena Segy and, by extension, the personal collection of her noted husband, Ladislas Segy. Significant among these are a rare Ngbandi ivory spoon and an unusually early Kota reliquary. A large and fine Lobi couple from the collection of Karl-Ferdinand Schaedler and an Mbembe figure once owned by Georg Baselitz will also be offered. An unusual highlight of the sale is an extremely early Kanak stone figure from New Caledonia collected by the missionary Père Pierre Lambert between 1856 and 1863. 

View the online catalogue.

Male figure  -  Luba, D.R. Congo

Monumental head  -  Kanak, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea

Helmet mask  -  Luluwa, D. R. Congo

Male reliquary figure,  eyema byeri  -   Fang-Ntumu, Gabon

 Images courtesy of Sotheby's

TEFAF 2015

This year's edition of TEFAF will host seven galleries specializing in tribal art. The newest addition is Galerie Bacquart from Paris, which has been selected for the TEFAF Showcase. Jean-Baptiste Bacquart will offer a number of important African sculptures with prestigious provenances. Lucas Ratton will return this year as a full exhibitor with a strong selection of works, the cornerstone of which will be a Byeri Fang figure. Didier Claes will exhibit a group of African masks from the collection of Dr. Alex Rafaeli. Anthony J. P. Meyer will show works primarily from Melanesia and Polynesia, including a fine Tongan apa’apai club. Other long-time participants that visitors will have the pleasure of seeing again will include the Bernard de Grunne Gallery from Brussels with African art, the Entwistle Gallery from London and Paris with African and Oceanic material, and Galerie 1492 from Paris, which will present Pre-Columbian art.

For more information on the event, visit the official TEFAF website.

Tribal Art Sale - Zemanek-Münster

Zemanek-Münster will present its 77th sale of tribal art and artifacts on June 28 in Würzburg.  The large group of offerings (numbering over 560) will include works from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, South Asia, the Americas, and all over Africa.

View the online catalogue.

Reliquary figure  -  Fang, Equatorial Guinea

Bronze figure  -  Benin, Nigeria

Rice god, bul'ul  -  Ifugao, Philippines

Images courtesy of Zemanek-Münster

Tribal Art Sale at Sotheby's

A sale of exqusiite African and Oceanic art was held this afternoon at Sotheby's in Paris. Among the highlights were a spectacular Mabea Fang female figure which sold for over 4.3 million euros, works from the collection of Bernd Muhlack and a gorgeous Gabonese Vuvi mask.

View the auction results at the Sotheby's website.

Female figure  -  Mabea Fang, Cameroon  -  Early 19th century

Figure  -  Luluwa, D.R. Congo

Mask  -  Vuvi, Gabon

Figure  -  Bamileke, Bangwa Kingdom, Cameroon

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

Important Sale of African, Pre-Columbian, Oceanic and Native American Art on Saturday, October 23

A Kota reliquary guardian figure 'Mbulu Ngulu'; Kota, Gabon

Dan Ripley’s Antique Helper will present animportant auction of African, Pre-Columbian, Oceanic and Native American art and artifacts on Saturday, October 23rd..  Gathered from several distinguished collections, including an important New York collection, many selections from this auction are the subject of scholarly works.  Many have been exhibited, many are listed in the Yale archive of traditional African art. 

Recognizing the importance of this sale, Antique Helper has enlisted the services of Scott Rodolitz, A 25-year veteran in the fields of  African and Oceanic art.  Rodolitz has managed galleries and worked as curator for a number of public and private collections.  He worked at the Russian Academy of Scientists and is one of only a handful of Americans to become a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Scientists. Mr. Rodolitz has worked as World Wide Director of African and Oceanic Art at Bonham’s New York. Among his writing credits,  Rodolitz co-authored  Remnants of Ritual: Selections from The Gelbard Collection of African Art, along with Ethnographic expert Arthur P. Bourgeois.  A number of the fine African pieces in this auction were featured in this book, including the fantastic copper covered Lwalwa mask. 

According to Rodolitz, the October 23 auction offers a rare chance for enthusiasts at all levels to augment their collections.  This presents a unique buying opportunity for beginning collectors.  They will be able to bid on items in comfort, knowing that the objects of interest were truly created for traditional purposes, and are not merely copies crafted for the tourist trade. 

“There’s something for everyone in this sale, at every price point,” says Rodolitz.  “A particular focus was to make sure that all levels of collecting will be represented in this sale.  Anyone can come and find objects that are  traditional and within their price range.”  Prices will range from the low hundreds to thousands. 

While the sale will offer a wide survey of cultures from Sub-Saharan Africa, from Mali to South Africa, there will be a strong emphasis on material from Central Africa.  This region, according to Rodolitz, offers the greatest  cultural and is most popular among collectors of Ethnographic art. “You are not really talking about a single art form or a few art forms,” he says. “… You are dealing with hundreds of different peoples who all have different styles of art work…. There’s an endless range of styles.”

Reasonably estimated items such as Dogon and Kuba masks, as well as a large number of Zairian sculptures, all from provenanced collections, will be quite the attraction for  new collectors.  Additionally, there are shields from New Guinea and other objects collected from the vast area from Indonesia to Papua New Guinea and theSolomon Islands.  A number of pieces were collected during the early Harvard medical expeditions of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Other items of note from the Oceanic region include a representational canoe house support from the Solomon Islands, a large ceremonial ancestral facemask from New Guinea and a Wood Lark Island canoe prow.  Among the Tribal Art offerings will be weapons, objects of material culture, ritual masks, and carvings.

Of special note is an important Yoruba offering bowl, almost certainly carved by an artist named Agabonbiafe.  This bowl boasts an exceptional provenance, having been exhibited in a  number of museums. According to Rodolitz, “This bowl is one of the few examples where we know who the carver was.  Agabonbiafe was a known and famous carver among the Yoruba, and his work is in museums and other important collections world-wide..” Another item of special interest is a Lega mask from the Gelbard Collection. A wonderful, small Fang figure that sold in a French gallery circa WW II still boasts the original labels on the base.  A fine Baule mask, an exceptional Dan spoon and a Kota reliquary guardian figure, sold at Sotheby’s.  Not to be missed  is an extremely important Bakongo helmet mask, which appeared in Raoul Lehuard’s 1989 volume, “Art Bakango: Les Centres De Style, Vol. III, Les Masques”--the definitive study on Bakango masks. A handful of Zairian objects, formerly in the collection of a United States diplomat, and a Dan mask given by a missionary in the early 20th Century reflect the diversity of the backgrounds of early collectors.

Native American and Pre-Columbian art and artifacts include pottery, beadwork and baskets, as well asPeruvian textiles.  A totem pole, ca. early 20th Century from the Pacific Northwest would be an impressive addition to any collection.   

The auction will take place at 10 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on October, 23.  There will be a preview and reception on Friday, October 22, from 4-8 PM.

For more information, or for estimates for individual items, please view the auction catalog, which will be available at www.antiquehelper.com, or call (317) 251-5635.

Source: ArtfixDaily.com, www.antiquehelper.com