The Bonhams New York African Art May 15 auction
Bonhams African And Oceanic department (official site )
Upcoming AuctionsFine African and Oceanic Art
Thursday May 15, 1pm, 2008
595 Madison Avenue, Sixth Floor
New York, New York 10022
Preview May 9-14, 2008
Pictured:
A superb Punu/Lumbo mask
Gabon, uncharacteristically beautiful and sensual; the whitened gentle female face with naturalistic lips and nose beneath crescentric eyes that echo the forms of the thin and perfectly balanced brow line. The blackened coif elaborately carved in interlocking braids with spaced striations.
height 10 1⁄2in
Estimate: $60,000-80,000
Provenance:
Emile Deletaille, Brussels
Ambrosetti Gallery, Geneva
Halter Collection (collected by a relative of Mrs. Halter prior to World War II in Gabon)
Published:
"Arts d'Afrique Noire" n°55; p. 24:1985
Illustrated Catalog: $35 plus S&H
For further information,
complimentary auction estimates
or to view and order catalogs,
visit www.bonhams.com/us
or call +1 212 644 9001
A
superb Bamana Kore Society mask
Estimate: $50,000 - 60,000
Inquiries
Scott Rodolitz
+1 212 461 6522
scott.rodolitz@bonhams.com
A
superb Punu figure
Estimate: 100,000 - 150,000
Bonhams
580 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
+1 212 644 9001
+1 212 644 9009 fax
bonhams new york
© 2008, Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp.
All rights reserved.
Principal Auctioneer: Malcolm Barber, NYC License No. 1183017
For more information contact:
Senior Consultant
New York
Tel: +1 212 461-6522
African & Oceanic Works of Art at Bonhams
New York in May
Collectors of outstanding African and Oceanic art are awaiting fine art
auctioneer Bonhams’ upcoming sale on May 15th, 2008 in New York City following
the success of the newly formed department’s inaugural sale in the Fall of
2007.
The upcoming auction is expected to entice aficionados of the genre. As Bonhams’
African and Oceanic specialist Scott Rodolitz states, “Amongst the
approximately 200 lots we will be offering, the sale will feature more than 25
pieces from the Bohlen Collection of African Art. As this is one of the premiere
collections of African art in the country, I’m sure the sale will attract an
extremely enthusiastic group of bidders.”
One of the highlights of the Bohlen material is a rare Punu figure estimated at
$100,000 to $150,000. Collected prior to 1935, the work has been within the
collections of several luminaries in the field such as Jernander, de Grunne, and
Guimiot.
Also to be offered is a superb Lumbo mask, estimated at $60,000 to $80,000.
Formerly owned by the noted Emile Deletaille, it was collected prior to WWII and
is considered exceptionally beautiful.
Sure to fetch significant bids is a superb Bamana Kore mask. Previously sold by
both Entwistle and Monbrison, the mask, which Rodolitz describes as: “Perhaps
the finest Bamana Kore mask to come to market,” is estimated at $50,000 to
$60,000.
Other African art objects from various owners are also on offer in May,
including spectacular ivories from the Luba and Lega peoples of the Democratic
Republic of Congo, as well as stools, masks and figures with notable provenance
and exhibition histories.
This auction is also particularly strong in the area of Polynesian art,
including numerous pieces of superb type and with excellent provenance. These
include: a rare Easter Island piece from the famed Tomkins Collection; a
pristine Austral Islands paddle collected prior to 1822 from a Captain John
Walter Roberts which features an unusual band of dancing figures; a pre-contact
wooden Hawaiian spear that in the past belonged to Elijah Armitage of the
historical London Missionary Society; a Marquesan stilt-step and a splendid
U’u.
“This sale has first-rate material from many areas of Africa and Oceania,”
Rodolitz adds, “from fine Melanesian masks to rare Polynesian weapons to
African statues – the pieces have both the quality and the provenance that
collectors demand.”
The May 2008 sale will be one of the first to take place in Bonhams’ new Manhattan showrooms at 580 Madison Ave, formerly the home of the respected Dahesh Museum, a splendid venue for the works on display. The sale’s lots will go on preview on May 9th continuing daily until the sale on May 15th. The auction’s illustrated catalog will be online for review and purchase at Bonhams African Oceanic US
Past Bonhams auctions:
The November 2007 sale of nearly 400 lots drew a
standing-room-only crowd in New York City, as well, a pool of international
telephone bidders competed for the offered lots. That sale featured historical
works of African, Melanesian and Polynesian sculpture, as well as items from the
noted
Gelbard Collection . Many of the auction
highlights had been exhibited internationally with several considered “best of
type.” A Lobi figure thought by many to be one of the finest examples in
existence fetched $192,000. Additionally, an extremely rare Bakongo maternity
figure sparked an intense bidding war, coming in at $132,000 – far above its
pre-sale estimate of $25/35,000. The department’s inaugural sale realized
$1.8-million (including buyer’s premium).
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