American Indian & Tribal Art 3896B | December 17, 2021 | Boston
Tribal Art online 3895T | December 6-13 | skinnerinc.com
American Indian & Tribal Art | Tribal Art online December 17, 2021 | 10AM | Boston, MA
December 6–13 | skinnerinc.com
This December, the American Indian & Tribal Art sales are twofold: an online sale on view in our Marlborough gallery beginning on the 6th of December; and a live sale at the Boston Gallery with preview times available by appointment. Both sales will feature a wide range of cultural artifacts from around the world. The Pre-Columbian section features pottery from the great cultures of Mexico and a collection of textiles from South America. There are a wide variety of Oceanic works, the highlight being a rare Easter Island Moai Kavakava originally from the Rockefeller collection in New York City. African sculpture includes powerful Songye Kifwebe masks, Baule sculpture, and a group of Nigerian artifacts, including Ibeji figures and Mumuye sculpture. Also featured are three contemporary Congo paintings from a Boston collection. American Indian lots feature a strong collection of Plains beadwork, including pictorial pipe bags and clothing, moccasins, knife sheaths, tomahawks, and clubs. There is a large section of Southwestern pottery from various private collections, Navajo textiles, and a very early Mexican saltillo serape. We are pleased to offer items from the now-closed Thunderbird Museum in New Jersey, the highlights being a collection of Californian baskets from the early 1900s.
visit us online to browse the catalog, see the preview schedule, register & bid
Michael Evans
this page:
front cover:
americanindian@skinnerinc.com
202 Mojave Effigy Frog Pottery Rattle, c. 1890, ht. 3, wd. 4, lg. 4 1/2 in. $1,200-1,800
188 Large Acoma Polychrome Jar, ht. 10 3/4, wd. 13 1/4 in. $2,000-3,000
508.970.3254
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back cover: 113 Plains Beaded Hide Pictorial Child’s Jacket, Northern/Eastern Sioux, fourth quarter 19th century, wd. 29, lg. 19 1/2 in. (back detail). $8,000-12,000
3 Pre-Columbian Shell Trumpet, Peru, Moche, c. 300-600 A.D., ht. 6 1/2 in. $2,000-2,500 4 Nazca/Huari Tie Dye Textile, Peru, c. 500-1000 A.D., 44 1/2 x 68 in. $2,000-3,000
6 Painted Wood Spirit Board, Kwoi, Purari Delta, Papuan Gulf, Papua New Guinea, early 20th century, lg. 53 1/2, wd. 11 1/2 in. $12,000-18,000 8 New Guinea War Trumpet, Kul, Iatmul, Middle Sepik River, early to mid-20th century, lg. 24 1/4 in. $2,500-3,500 12 Kanak Mask, Southern Grand Terre, New Caledonia, 19th century, ht. 8 1/4 in. $6,000-8,000 40 Wood Shrine of Bhairava, Nepal, 18th/19th century, ht. 36 1/2, wd. 33 in. $5,000-7,000
16 Futuna Tapa Cloth Panel, French Polynesia, tapa 29 x 54 in. (detail). $3,000-5,000 37 Nukuoro Coconutgrating Stool, Caroline Islands, 19th century, ht. 13 1/2, lg. 20 in. $3,500-4,500
29 Hawaiian Poi Bowl, Umeke la’au pakaka, early to mid-19th century, ht. 5, wd. 10 1/2 in. $6,000-8,000
30 Marquesas Woman’s Ear Ornament, Pu taiana, French Polynesia, 19th century, lg. 1 5/8 in. $3,000-4,000
21 Tongan Chief’s Scepter, early 19th century, lg. 15 1/4 in. (detail). $5,000-7,000
MOAI KAVAKAVA Moai Kavakava literally means “image with ribs,” and according to some accounts, these gaunt and skeletal male figures represent the spirits of the dead, most likely ancestors, taking the form of emancipated corpses. Other accounts suggest the first moai kavakava made were presentations of dangerous spirits. Their use was restricted to men and worn around the neck as part of a costume at feasts and important occasions. Moai Kavakava follow a strict pattern in terms of physical attributes; with exposed rib cages, visible and clearly defined vertebrae, heads with a pronounced nose, chin, goatee, and cheekbones, and with large, round trance-like eyes of white bone and black obsidian. The extended earlobes, typical of this type of sculpture, are shown with cylindrical ear ornaments representing the actual shark vertebra earplugs worn by the island’s inhabitants. The skull wears an incised glyph of what looks to be an octopus. According to legend, the octopus glyph seems to have been a materialization of an akuaku, or spirit encompassing the notion of devouring.
33 Rapa Nui Male Figure, Moai Kavakava, Easter Island, 19th century, ht. 18 in. $25,000-35,000 88 Bela (c. 1920-1968) Painting, untitled, oil on board, signed lower right, painting 25 x 32, framed 33 1/2 x 40 3/4 in. $5,000-7,000 89 Mwenze Kibwanga (1925-1999) Painting, untitled, oil on canvas, signed lower right, painting 26 x 38, framed 33 x 45 1/2 in. $4,000-6,000
47 Baule Standing Male Figure, Ivory Coast, ht. 13 1/2 in. $1,500-2,500 54 Two Male Yoruba Figures, Ibeji, Nigeria, ht. 12 3/4 in. each. $1,200-1,800 80 Hemba Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ht. 17 3/4 in. $2,500-3,500 56 Mumuye Standing Figure, Nigeria, ht. 35 1/2 in. $5,000-7,000 71 Tabwa Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ht. 11 1/2 in. $3,000-5,000 61 Standing Bakongo Fetish Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ht. 10 3/4 in. $800-1,200
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KIFWEBE MASKS The Kifwebe masking tradition is shared by the Luba and Songye—indicative of the interaction between the two societies. Kifwebe masks can represent either male or female beings; angular and thrusting forms characterize both types. In both cases, the entire face is covered in patterns of geometric grooves that are uniquely characteristic of this form. Various designs reference different aspects of nature, culture, and cosmology and can symbolize the spirits of the dead, the underworld, and the struggle between good and evil. Each element of the mask represents these aspects in a certain way. The intertwining of red, black, and white was meant to symbolize the struggle between good (white) and evil (black and red); the combination of colors embodies the positive and dangerous force held within the mask. Supplemented by a woven costume and a long beard of raffia attachments, the masks can be worn by men who act as police at the behest of a ruler or to intimidate the enemy, but are used mainly for initiation ceremonies, circumcision, public ceremonies, reproduction rituals, and the enthronement and funerals of the supreme chief.
69 Songye Kifwebe Mask, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ht. 16 1/2, wd. 10 1/2 in. $5,000-7,000
64 Luba Kifwebe Mask, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ht. 9 3/4, wd. 9 1/4 in. $8,000-12,000
76 Kuba Mask, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ht. 11 5/8 in. $4,000-6,000
113 Plains Beaded Hide Pictorial Child’s Jacket, Northern/Eastern Sioux, fourth quarter 19th century, wd. 29, lg. 19 1/2 in. $8,000-12,000 112 Plains Beaded Hide Girl’s Dress Yoke, Sioux, c. 1870s, lg. without fringe 54, wd. 9 in. $7,000-9,000 95 Pair of Southern Plains Beaded Moccasins, fourth quarter 19th century, lg. 10 3/4 in. $5,000-7,000
101 Central Plains Beaded Hide Pipe Bag, Sioux, early fourth quarter 19th century, lg. with fringe 38 in. $4,000-6,000 104 Plains Pictorial Beaded Hide Pipe Bag, Lakota, c. 1870, lg. with fringe 42 1/2 in. $8,000-12,000 106 Southern Plains Beaded Hide Pipe Bag, Cheyenne, c. 1870s, lg. 29 in. $3,000-4,000
102 Plains Beaded Hide Pipe Bag, Lakota, fourth quarter 19th century, lg. with fringe 39 in. $4,000-6,000 132 Tomah Joseph Pictorial Birch Bark Box, ht. 3, wd. 3, lg. 4 5/8 in. $800-1,200 94 Pair Southern Plains Child’s Moccasins, early fourth quarter 19th century, lg. 6 1/4 in. $1,200-1,800
139 Northwest Coast Chilkat Blanket, Tlingit, fourth quarter 19th century, lg. 63 in. $20,000-30,000 145 Eskimo Pictographic Bow Drill, Alaska, 19th century, lg. 14 1/2 in. $2,500-3,500
147 Greenland Tupilak Figure, c. late 19th/early 20th century, lg. 6 3/4 in. $2,000-3,000 140 Northwest Coast Ceremonial Rattle, 19th century, lg. 12 1/8 in. $10,000-15,000
138 Northwest Coast Frog Bowl, Tlingit, fourth quarter 19th century, lg. 12 1/4 in. $4,000-6,000
NEW MEXICAN RETABLOS The word retablo comes from the Latin phrase retro tabula, literally “behind the altar,” where paintings and sacred images were displayed in medieval churches to educate usually illiterate congregations. In Spanish colonies, small versions of these devotional objects held a place of honor in a great many private homes. They were not themselves objects of worship, but rather objects of veneration and aids to prayer. The golden age of retablos in Latin America spanned the mid-18th century to the late 19th century. These visual aids to prayer were especially prized in New Mexico, where a devout Catholic population was thinly spread over a large expanse of territory, with little access to churches and very few priests. Retablos were believed to induce spiritual qualities of respect, devotion, and humility for the entity they represent. Subject matter included a member of the Holy Family or saint of particular meaning for the owner, such as a namesake or a saint connected to the person’s occupation or needs. Early retablos made in the New World were painted on canvas or hide, primarily by Franciscan brothers. Settlers in New Mexico had little access to these images and scant money to buy them, so they developed distinctive means and methods of creating religious art. Santeros in New Mexico initially painted their retablos on hand-adzed wood panels, making their paints with pigments derived from local minerals and plants.
opposite: 152 New Mexican Polychrome Wood Retablo, early to mid19th century, Saint Francis of Assisi, 14 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. $800-1,200 154 New Mexican Polychrome Wood Retablo, follower of Jose Aragon, early 19th century, depiction of Saint Gertrude the Great, 13 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. $800-1,200
this page: 148 Southwest Polychrome Katsina, Hopi, ht. 10 in. $600-800
178 Late Classic Saltillo Serape, 87 x 52 in. $8,000-12,000
149 Southwest Polychrome Katsina, Hopi, ht. 10 3/4 in. $700-900
183 Southwest Polychrome Pottery Jar, Polacca, ht. 5, wd. 7 1/2 in. $2,000-3,000
151 Large Hopi Polychrome Carved Wood Katsina, early 20th century, ht. 16 1/2 in. $3,500-4,500 150 Hopi Polychrome Katsina, early 20th century, Navajo Tasaf type, ht. 12 in. $2,500-3,500
189 Large Zia Polychrome Jar, ht. 12 1/8, wd. 16 1/2 in. $3,000-5,000
199 San Ildefonso Polychrome Pottery Cornmeal Box, late 19th/early 20th century, ht. 5 1/2, wd. 6 3/4 in. $1,200-1,800
215 Large Mission Polychrome Eagle and Firebrand Basket, early 20th century, ht. 4 1/8, wd. 17 3/4 in. $2,500-3,500
205 Kayenta Black-on-White Storage Jar, c. 1000-1250 A.D., ht. 13, wd. 14 in. $2,000-3,000
169 Navajo Germantown Weaving, late 19th century, 66 1/2 x 40 in. $2,500-3,500
164 Navajo Chief’s Blanket Weaving, 56 x 67 in. $2,000-3,000 212 Polychrome Horned Toad Basket, Cahuilla Mission, early 20th century, ht. 4, wd. 7 in. $800-1,200 213 Mission Polychrome Eagle and Firebrand Basket, early 20th century, ht. 3, wd. 11 1/4 in. $1,500-2,000 187 Southwest Polychrome Pottery Olla, Acoma, 19th century, ht. 8 1/2, wd. 10 1/4 in. $1,500-2,000
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