By Carter B. Horsley This auction combines the Arts of Africa and Oceanic Art, with American Indian Art and Pre-Columbia Art, both of which have traditionally had their own separate auctions and catalogues. The African section, which starts the auction, is highlight by two very good Yoruba, pieces, a striking Senufo pounder, a very strong Mossi female figure, a large Cameroon commemorative group, a fine Songe power figure, a powerful Inland Niger Delta terracotta torso, a good Dogon hermaphrodite figure, a stunning Fang male reliquary guardian figure, a superb Tshokwe male figure, a Tabwa female figure, and a nice Yombe seated male figure. Lot 36 is a "superb" Yoruba Oshe Shango sceptre on which a female figure kneels wearing a skirt decorated with cowrie shells and cloth affixed by a ban with amulets inset and encircling her tapering torso. The figure has a striated bipartite coiffure beneath the Shango celt emanating from the head with a single strand of glass beads encircling the neck. The catalogue notes that a sample of the wood of this elegant Shango has been tested and found to circa 1675. "Oshe shango dance wands," the catalogue noted, "were carried by priests and devotees of orisha shango, the dietyu of Yoruba thought who pronounced judgement upon mankind in claps of thunder and bolts of lightening. Shango was the legendary fourth king of Oyo, who reigned for seven turbulent years. Most shango shafts depict female devotees in varying stances but most often kneeling.This figure in unusual in that she wears a cloth with inset amulets (?) encircling her torso." The lot has a conservative estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 35 is a "fine" Yoruba ivory oliphant with a stylized crocodile craved in high relief in the middle of the oliphant, which is topped by a lioness standing on a flared base. An ivory disk attached to the stand is inscribed "carved tusk said to have been taken from King Kosoko's town/Brought to England from Lagos by the Expedition of 1851 (?)." The lot has an estimate of $18,000 to $22,000. It sold for $30,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.
Lot 17 is a "superb" Senufo female rhythm pounder that was collected in the Congo circa 1940 by Simon Escarré. The catalogue entry for this lot states that this "exceptional" figure was "carved by Ngolo Pili (circa 186501965), a master carver from the village of Dyimiténé in the southern region of Korhogo" and that only three rhythm pounders by the carver are known. "Each of the three are similar in scale, with a title to the head and s lightly smiling expression. Each wears similar armbands and loin cloths, and is incised with linear scarifications imbued with red ochre and kaolin at the hops, navel and face." The lot has an estimate of $90,000 to $120,000. It sold for $142,400.
Lot 8 is a "magnificent" Mossi female figure of slender proportions with pendulous breasts, paddle-like hands and a mask-like face with stepped scarification on the sides framed by demi-lune ears. The 28-inch-high figure has an estimate of $25,000 to $40,000. It sold for $60,000.
The most colorful piece in the auction is Lot 53, a "rare and important" Cameroon, Baham Chiefdom, royal commemorative group composed of three seated figures, the tallest of which is 83 inches high. The catalogue notes that "during the reign of the 11th fon of Baham, Kamwa Mars, the sculptor Kwam,worked in the Bati style. Kwam became the official sculptor of this reign and his style was particularly inventive, working with new themes and images including relief on double gongs, and animated carving of animals, skulls and people. Kwam's life masterpiece is the offered magnificent commemorative carving of the fon Kamwa, his mafo or queen mother, and a queen. It is exceptional in African art that we know the name of the carver of such an important work. The sculpture was decorated with elaborate beadwork by the famous beadworker of the period, Kandep. The three figures in the group are seated on a shared circular seat - Kamwa himself, originally wearing a beaded beret (now missing) wears a beaded necklace with numerous to to which are attributed supernatural powers, and eight bracelets on this left arm. He holds in his hand a gourd or cup, a symbol of power and abundance. The queens are beaded in an ornate geometric motif- one holds a calabash and the other carries a cup marked with the name o the carver. Kwam and Kadep had already begun to work together during the reign of Pokam, the 10th fon, at the turn of the 20th Century. The hand of Kwam is very distinctive, as the figures are carved with slightly rounded stomachs and hollowed on the reverse, the faces with puffed cheeks and exaggerated hollowed pierced ears." The lot has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It failed to sell.
The most striking item in the sale is Lot 80, a "magnificent" Inland Niger Delta terracotta torso. The 12 3/4-inch-high work has a man grasping his chin with his hand while his tongue protrudes from his mouth and his head is covered with raised undulating serpents. The lot, which shows signs of erosion, has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $36,000.
Lot 81 is an "important" Dogon hermaphrodite figure that is 23 3/4 inches high and according to the catalogue "belongs to a group that has been widely published and exhibited, and have been attributed to a Dogon artist known to Western scholars of the 'Master of the Ogol.'" "Ogol," the entry continued, "is the name of the atelier named after the village of Ogol in the Sanga region of the southern cliff area in Mali where two of the carvings from this group were collected in 1935 for the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. The group by the same hand or atelier consists of approximately thirteen statues which were found at different locations along the southern cliff, but have such a uniform iconography that they seem to have originated in the same atelier, and possibly were carved by the same hand." The lot has an estimate of $75,000 to $100,000. It sold for $164,800.
Lot 85 is a "rare and important" Fang male reliquary guardian figure that has an exceptionally fine resinous black patina. The 18 1/2-inch-high statue has a sweeping bipartite coiffure pierced for the attachment of ornaments. "This remarkably sensitive and elegant reliquary figure stylistically can be placed as originating in the north of Gabon amongst the Fang-Ntumu in the region of Oyem Bitam," the catalogue observed. The lot has an estimate of $180,000 to $250,000. It sold for $209,600.
Lot 59 is a fine Songe power figure that is 29 1/4 inches high and is notable for the arching horn inset at the crown and nine strands of blue glass beads encircling the neck. The lot has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $90,000.
Lot 13 is a "rare" Bobo male figure of angular form with very broad flat shoulders with an incised geometric motif for scarification. The 19 1/2-inch high figure has a strong sculptural prescence and a modest estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $6,600.
Lot 29 is a very strong Eket male figure that is 21 5/8 inches high and notable for its "protruding shelflike shoulders. The spherical head has a concave face and there are holes in the crown for insertion of decoration. The shoulders resemble somewhat the horns of a water buffalo. The lot has an estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $11,400.
Lot 89 is a "superb" Yombe seated male figure with his head resting on his hand. The 12 5/8-inch high statue is, according to the catalogue, "a highly refined and elegant figure of a chief, or high-ranking Yombe figure [and] is one of the most magnificent examples of carving from a distinctive atelier." It has an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000. It sold for $72,000.
One of the more stunning works is Lot 90, a "rare and important" Tshokwe male figure. The 16 1/8-inch-high sculpture has fine deep brown patina with subtle adze marks overall. The head is removable has a gently rounded forehead leading to an elaborate coiffure with striated motifs and three pendant tresses each surmounted by hollowed amuletic horns. The lot has an estimate of $125,000 to $175,000. It sold for $108,000.
Although the American Indian section of this auction, Lots 150-188, is quite small, the Pre-Columbian Art section has a broad and good selection of works.
Lot 214 is an imposing pair of Calima gold dear ornaments, Late Ilama or Malagana style, Cauca River Valley, circa 200 B.C.-A.D. 200. The earrings measure 4 1/4 by 5 5/8 inches each. The lot has an estimate of $125,000 to $175,000. It sold for $148,000.
One of the most impressive works in this section of the auction is Lot 248, a Teotihuacan lidded incensario, Classic, circa A.D. 450-650. The imposing 27 1/2-inch high incensario has great dimensionality and lovely color. It has a modest estimate of $12,000 to $15,000. It sold for $11,400.
Lot 243 is an imposing figure of Xipe Totec, the god of renewal and spring, who was celebrated by wearing the skin of sacrificed captives. The two-part figure is Veracruz, Late Classic-Early Postclassic, circa A.D. 800-1200. The 32-inch-high figure was consigned by the Daniel M. Friedenberg Collection and has a modest estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It sold for $9,600.
Lot 246 is a very fine Veracruz stone yoke, Late Classic, circa A.D. 550-950. The 16 1/2-inch long yoke has a modest estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $21,600.
Lot 364 is a "fine and rare" canoe prow ornament from the Solomon Islands, New Georgia. The 8-inch high object has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It was collected in 1906. It was withdrawn.
One of the most colorful items in the auction is Lot 357, a 44 1/2-inch-high dance wand from Tolai, East New Britain Province. The lot has a modest estimate of $3,000 to $4,000. It sold for $7,800.
Lot 388 is a surprisingly naturalistic sculpture of a woman from the Solomon Islands, probably Vella La Vella Island. The 13 3/4-inch-high figure is exceptionally lovelly and graceful and has a modest estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $20,400.