Online catalogue for the 52nd tribal art auction

31 Ceremonial knife

This object is not available any more.

Gilbert - Gilbert Islands

wood, dark brown patina, oval handle, carved with a slightly curved blade with raised middle ridge, on both sides set with shark teeth, stuck into notches aside and fixed by rattan, slightly dam., minor missing part at the base, crack, on shark tooth missing

L: 48 cm
L: 18.9 inch

Provenance
Private Collection, England

Literature
Christaud, M. Geary (ed.), From the South Seas, Oceanic Art from the Teel Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, 2006, p. 135, ill. 72

Price: 2600 - 3900 €

32 Two receptacles

This object is not available any more.

Solomon Islands

wood, blackened, oval receptacle in the shape of a bird, l: 26,5 cm/h: 11 cm, wings, tail, head and bow-shaped projections underneath the neck elaborately decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay, some of them missing (eyes), abrasion; cylindrical receptacle, h: 23 cm, carved with a band of diamond-shaped ornaments, and four vertical struts with hook-shaped crossed elements inbetween, decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay, slightly dam., crack; these bowls were used in cermonies to contain foodstuffs.

Provenance
Coll. Taylor Dale, Santa Fé, New Mexico

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 272, ill. 8

Price: 1000 - 1500 €

33 Prow ornament "musumusu"

This object is not available any more.

Solomon Islands

wood, polychrome paint, in form of a zoomorphic head with an elongated snout and the eyes inset with nacre, crowned by hat-like headgear, the hands resting underneath the chin, labeled: "Nangatana, Nggela Is, ASIP 7/35", min. dam., signs of abrasion, on base; in the Solomon Islands, the canoes that were used for headhunting and bonito fishing were beautifully shaped and had fine carved hulls inlaid with shell so as to become works of art themselves. Small human sculptures were lashed on the prows just above the waterline. They are mostly in the form of seated figures or simply show a head with the hands raised to the chin as here. They served a protective function and were associated with a spirit called "kesoko".

H: 20 cm, L: 17 cm
H: 7.9 inch, L: 6.7 inch

Provenance
Coll. Taylor Dale, Santa Fé, New Mexico
Arcade Arts Gallery, London, Great Britain

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 280
Wardwell, Allen, Island Ancestors, Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection, University of Washington Press 1994, p. 132

Sold.

34 Dance club "napa"

This object is not available any more.

Santa Cruz Islands

wood, light brown patina, black paint, kaolin, circular handle, carved with an elongated "boat-shaped" clubs corpus, the pair of abstract animal or bird heads which ornament the upper surface are characteristic of these ceremonial clubs, in black colour painted with geometric ornaments, slightly dam., cracks, paint rubbed off; adult men performed the "napa" dance carrying such ceremonial clubs. During the intricate steps of "napa", male dancers stuck their clubs together ritually, which may account for the often battered and split condition. This dance however originated in festivities to signify the maturation of young men.

L: 79 cm
L: 31.1 inch

Provenance
French Collection

Literature
Art of Polynesia, Hurst Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1987, p. 58

Price: 1150 - 1800 €

35 No mask

This object is not available any more.

Japan

wood, partly shiny patina, residues of white paint, of broad form, a bulging forehead with brows accentuated by dark paint, spherical protruding eyes with pierced pupils, flanking a broad nose, a big opened mouth with prominent lower jaw and revealed teeth, min. dam., signs of abrasion, missing parts, insect caused damage

H: 25,5 cm
H: 10 inch

Provenance
Alexander Pollmer, Munich, Germany

Published in
Luis Demmler, Georg Neuner, Masken, Schriften des Instituts für Film und Bild in Wissenschaft und Unterricht, Heering Verlag Seebruck am Chiemsee, 1957

Literature
K.-F. Schaedler, Masken der Welt, München 1999, p. 264 ff.

Sold.

36 Shrunken head "tsantsa"

This object is not available any more.

South America

leather like, dark brown coloured skin, black hair, eye brows and lashes, the lips sewn shut with cord material, small wooden plugs inserted, both means to prevent, that ghosts of vengeance could escape; shrunken heads are trophees (of head hunting) made of the heads of enemies. A technique spread with some people of South America. The skull bones were removed and the remaining skin was cooked together with the scalp. Afterwards the skin shell was filled with stones, sand or hot ashes, which made it shrunk and mummifying. The facial features were remodeled. Finally it was smoked for several hours which preserved it and produced the dark skin colour. The primitive people believed that the life force of the killed person is passed over to the owner of the "tsantsa". Furthermore this treatment was looked upon as the ultimate humiliation of the victim and completion of revenge.

H: 12 cm
H: 4.7 inch

Provenance
Coll. August Flick, Cologne, Germany

Sold.

37 Dagger

This object is not available any more.

North America, Haida

tapering copper blade (bronze ?) with raised middle ridge,, sharpened on either side, the handle wrapped up with leather straps, crowned by an animal head of bone, with the eyes, nostrils and teeth inset with haliotis shell, setting of the blade made of bone, affixed copper coin, numbered "23", bone material with natural grains/hairline cracks, small place of repair (tip of the hea); the animal head presumably depicting a wolf.

L: 46 cm
L: 18.1 inch

Literature
Haberland, Wolfgang, Donnervogel und Raubwal, Die indianische Kunst der Nordwestküste Nordamerikas, Ausst.kat., Hamburg 1979, p. 122, ill. E-8

Price: 6500 - 10000 €

38 Cribbage board

This object is not available any more.

Canada, Inuit

walrus tusk, consisting of two parts, u-shaped, slightly vaulted, by incised lines divided into 24 rectangular compartments, arranged in rows of four and accentuated by black pigment which is rubbed into the deepenings, pierced holes at the rim, inscription at the back "Made from walrus tusks by an Indian at St. Pauls Island ...", the remaining words unreadable, on base

H: 23,5 cm, 1850/60
H: 9.3 inch, 1850/60

Provenance
Antoine Tzapoff, Paris, France

Price: 2400 - 3600 €

39 Three musical instruments

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo

drum: a bulky corpus above a circular stand with ornamental incisions, min. dam., signs of usage, H: 34,5 cm; "sanza": of rectangular form with ten metal teeth and ornamental incisions, on base, H: 29,5 cm; "tan tan": with two strings, on base, H: 70, 5 cm

Sold.

40 Two miniature masks

This object is not available any more.

Liberia, Bassa

wood, dark brown patina, of oval form with a pointed chin, tribe-typical facial features and coiffures, min. dam., slight signs of abrasion, on base; miniature masks have different functions: they represented significant mask figures and were taken along to keep in touch with the helping spirit even when going away. Thus they were worn by men and women as well. When a girl moved to another village because of marriage she received such a small mask.

H: 7 resp. 7,5 cm
H: 7 resp. 3 inch

Provenance
Coll. Joseph and Doris Gerofsky, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Private Collection, USA

Literature
Tagliaferri, Aldo, Miniature masks from West Africa, Mailand 1997, p. 40

Sold.