American Indian & Tribal Art 3640B | May 12, 2021 | Marlborough, MA | www.skinnerinc.com
American Indian & Tribal Art Northwest Coast and South Pacific regions of the world are well represented by property from the Rosman Rubel collection of New York City— including Haida argillite carvings, Northwest Coast masks, Oceanic tools and weapons, and jewelry from the Marquesas Islands. Oceanic artifacts from the Leo and Lillian Fortess Collection from Hawaii include a rare Maori war canoe bailer. A fine collection of Indonesian artifacts collected in situ in the early 1980s is offered here for the first time. Native American works feature a Plains Indian collection from New York with pipe tomahawks, catlinite pipes, and hide beadwork, and an early Cree pictorial beaded pipe bag collected by an army cavalry soldier in the 1880s. Historic Northwest Coast and Inuit artifacts include a Chilkat ceremonial robe which has been in the family of the consignor for over forty years, and masks from King and Nunivak Islands in Alaska. An extensive collection of Southwest pottery, both historic and contemporary, and a group of Navajo textiles and silver and turquoise jewelry round out the auction.
May 12, 2021 | 10AM | Marlborough, MA | skinnerinc.com please contact the department for condition reports & preview information, visit our website to register & bid
Michael Evans
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americanindian@skinnerinc.com
2 Pre-Columbian Veraguas Gold Pendant, Costa Rica, c. 800-1500 AD, in the form of a jaguar, weight 23 grams, lg. 1 5/8 in.
270 Northwest Coast Chilkat Blanket, Tlingit, late 19th century, woven with mountain goat wool and cedar bark, wd. 54, ht. 39 in.
22 Toraja Figural Door Panel, Sulawesi, early 20th century, ht. 28 1/2, wd. 17 1/2 in.
back cover:
508.970.3254
MA LIC. 2304
366 Navajo Chief’s Blanket Weaving, fourth quarter 19th century, 48 x 56 in., (detail).
87 Large Hawaiian Poi Bowl, ’Umeke la’au pakaka, early to mid-19th century, ht. 7, wd. 14 in. 80 Maori Canoe Bailer, Tiheru, New Zealand, 19th century, used in war canoes, carved in the East Coast style, lg. 21, wd. 9 1/2 in. 63 Large Tongan Hardwood Neck Rest, Kali, 19th century, carved from one piece of wood, ht. 6 5/8, lg. 17 1/4 in. 12 Large Sea Coconut, Coco de Mer, Seychelles, lodoicea maldivica, cut in half, ht. 10 3/4, wd. 11 1/4 in.
98 Micronesian Navigation Chart, Rebbelib, Marshall Islands, 18 1/2 x 16 1/2 in. 41 New Guinea Wood Plaque, Iatmul, Middle Sepik Province, mid-20th century, dia. 15 3/4 in. 25 Pair of Large Silver Ear Ornaments, PadungPadung, Karo Batak, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, lg. 6 1/2, wd. 6 in. 15 Brass Pectoral, Marangga, West Sumba, Sumatra, Indonesia, early 20th century, ht. 8 1/4, wd. 8 in. 96 Nukuoro Coconut-grating Stool, Caroline Islands, 19th century, ht. 15 1/2, wd. 22 1/2 in.
34 Large Massim Hardwood Figure, Kiriwina Island, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, early 20th century, ht. 16 1/2 in. 20 Flores Ancestor Figure, Indonesia, early 20th century, ht. 25 in. 117 Ibo Female Standing Figure, Nigeria, ht. 34 in. 109 Ceremonial African Plaited Raffia Woman’s Skirt, Dida people, Ivory Coast, early to mid-20th century, ht. 44, wd. 20 1/2 in.
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opposite: 141 Plains Cree Beaded Hide Pipe Bag, c. 1870s, lg. 27 3/4 in.
140 Plains Pictorial Beaded Hide Pipe Bag, Lakota, fourth quarter 19th century, lg. with fringe 27 1/2, wd. 6 3/4 in.
this page: 193 Northeast Woodlands Effigy Ball Club, early to mid-19th century, lg. 16 1/4 in., (with detail).
175 Central Plains Gunstock Club, mid-19th century, lg. 24 1/4 in.
194 Woodlands Wood Pipe Club, Iroquois, fourth quarter 19th century, lg. 24 1/2 in.
181 Great Lakes Beaded Cloth Bag, c. early 19th century, lg. including fringe 19, wd. 7 in. 144 Central Plains Beaded Hide Knife and Case, fourth quarter 19th century, with knife marked “J. Russel & Co. Greenriverworks,” lg. 9 1/2 in. 183 Great Lakes Finger-woven Charm Bag, fourth quarter 19th century, 7 x 8 in. 135 Plains Beaded Commercial Leather Dispatch Bag, Arapaho, c. 1880s, lg. 12, wd. 6 1/4 in. 130 Plains Beaded Hide Moccasins, Sioux, early fourth quarter 19th century, lg. 10 1/2 in.
204 Northeast Woodlands Crooked Knife, c. 1840-60s, lg. 8 1/2 in. 195 Early Northeast Carved Burlwood Bowl, Iroquois, 18th/19th century, ht. 7 1/4, lg. 20 1/2, wd. 16 in. 274 Prehistoric Pine Tree Flint Arrowhead, found in Marshall County, Alabama, early Archaic period, c. 5900 BC, lg. 2 7/8 in. 275 Prehistoric Angostura Flint Point, Upper Mercer flint found in Ohio, early Archaic period, c. 9000 BC, lg. 5 1/8 in.
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CHILKAT CEREMONIAL ROBE Chilkat blanket weaving, originating with the Tsimshian people, probably in the 18th century, had spread by the early 19th century to the Tlingits through trade and marriage. Both men and women played a role in creating the blanket: men designed the pattern, made the pattern board and loom, and provided goat hides for wool; women gathered cedar bark, prepared the yarn, and wove the blanket. The community’s highest-ranking members wear the blankets on special occasions such as the potlatch feast. The unique design patterns on Chilkat robes demonstrate the adaptation of highly advanced finger-weaving techniques to the traditional conventions of painted design—three-strand braiding woven into the weft surface enables the weaver to form ovoids and circles out of essentially rectangular shapes. Originating from the geometric designs created on twined basketry, the weavers created this tapestry-like technique to achieve the required complex design elements. In their degree of abstraction, Chilkat textile design goes further than painting, as now whole images can be fragmented, and components rearranged to fill the robe’s confined space. The robe in this sale shows a variation on a pattern often called the “diving whale,” with the head in the central panel and the body and fins mirrored in the side panels.
270 Northwest Coast Chilkat Blanket, Tlingit, late 19th century, wd. 54, ht. 39 in.
257 Contemporary Northwest Coast Tsonokwa Mask, Kwakwaka’wakw, c. 1940s, ht. 13 1/2, wd. 13 in.
267 Northwest Coast Argillite Figure Group, Haida, late 19th century, ht. 6, lg. 10 in.
Haida argillite carvings date to the early 19th century, when they were traded with sailors and fur traders. These early soft-stone carvings focused on tobacco-smoking pipes and drew on designs from the Haida crest tradition. Over time, themes evolved into portrayals of the Euro-Americans themselves, with whimsical representations of sailors, ships, and shipboard life. These were generally carved into panel pipes and later developed into small statuettes of sailors and occasionally women. Later in the 19th century, the Haida produced large circular or oval platters and plates. Engraved in low and high relief and decorated in all the classic forms and elements of Haida design, the carvings can incorporate animals such as the raven, “killer” whale, bear, and beaver. Miniature totem poles also became an important and widely popular trade item in the latter part of the century. These were not replicas of life-size cedar poles; they depict either a story or a display of the carver’s crests, with the significant crest at the top of the pole followed by a progression of figures, usually growing larger in scale.
266 Northwest Coast Argillite Platter, Haida, ht. 2 3/4, dia. 16 1/2 in.
268 Northwest Coast Argillite Panel Pipe, Haida, 19th century, lg. 14, ht. 2 1/2 in.
HAIDA ARGILLITE CARVING
238 King Island Inuit-Inupiaq Shaman Mask, Alaska, early 20th century, ht. 10 1/2, wd. 7 1/4 in. 239 Yupik Wood Bear Effigy Dance Mask, Nunivak Island, Alaska, first quarter 20th century, ht. 11, wd. 11 3/4 in. 227 Inuit Sea Otter Toggle, Alaska, 19th century, lg. 2 1/2 in. 226 Inuit Seal Drag Handle or Parka Toggle, Alaska, 19th century, lg. 2 1/4 in. 236 Inuit Food Bowl Wood, Qantat, 19th century, ht. 3 1/2, lg. 13 1/4, and wd. 8 1/4 in.
ESKIMO DANCE MASKS Eskimo wooden mask-making is confined almost exclusively to Alaska, where ceremonial mask usage reached its highest development. No mask exists as a carving in itself, but rather as part of an integrated narrative of song, story, and dance in both religious and secular activities. As a primarily spiritual art form, each mask is created as the physical embodiment of a spirit and represents all aspects of the Eskimo cosmology, from mythological beings, deities such as the sun and moon, to various spirits, from animals to shaman’s helpers and guardians. They are worn in dances at festivals and in performances by shamans—celebrations which often honor the spirits of animals or birds, such as this bear mask. Dances are performed to influence the animal’s spirit and subsequent behavior, often related to hunting. Men almost exclusively wore face masks, while women would dance with finger masks.
300 Large Southwest Hopi Katsina, Wilson Tewaquaptewa (1873-1960), ht. 15 in. 301 Southwest Konin or Supai Katsina, Third Mesa style, ht. 8 in. 298 Southwest Katsina, Wilson Tewaquaptewa (1873-1960), ht. 8 1/2 in. 299 Southwest Polychrome Shalako Katsina, c. 1960, James Kootshongsie (19161996), ht. 14 3/4 in.
338 Contemporary Navajo Silver and Turquoise Bracelet, Edison Cummings, interior cir. 5 3/8 in. 336 Contemporary Navajo Silver Bracelet, Mark Chee (1914-1981), interior cir. 5 in. 337 Contemporary Southwest Silver Bracelet, marked “Whirling Wind” for Ray Morton, interior cir. 5 1/4 in.
367 Navajo Transitional Wearing Blanket, woven in a Second Phase Chief’s blanket style, 53 1/2 x 64 in. 364 Navajo Yei Textile, 47 x 35 1/2 in.
378 Acoma Polychrome Pottery Jar, ht. 9 1/2, wd. 9 3/4 in. 384 Acoma Polychrome Pottery Olla, early 20th century, ht. 11 1/2, wd. 12 1/4 in.
388 Southwest Polychrome Pottery Tile, Hopi, late 19th/early 20th century, ht. 5 1/2, wd. 3 3/4 in. 408 California Coiled Basketry Bowl, Chemehuevi, early 20th century, dia. 11 1/2 in. 363 Navajo Germantown Weaving, late 19th century, 69 x 50 in. 402 Southwest Polychrome Pottery Olla, Zuni, c. late 19th century, ht. 9 1/2, wd. 13 1/2 in. 401 Large Zuni Polychrome Pottery Owl, c. 1930s, ht. 9 1/2, wd. 10 1/2 in. 385 Southwest Polychrome Pottery Canteen, Acoma, late 19th century, ht. 6, lg. 8, wd. 7 in.
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