Online catalogue for the 63rd tribal art auction with special part 'wunderkammer'

31 Snails and mussels

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

ten pieces, e.g. big and small Cicoreus, Lopha cristagalli, Chicoreus ramosus, Trochus

L: 3 cm - 23 cm
L: 1.2 inch - 21.2 inch

Sold.

32 different kinds of Melo

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

five pieces, i.a. two different species of Melo, Indopacific; jewellery from Papua New Guinea made of Melo amphora, additional: Syrinx aruanus and a small snail

L: up to 50 cm
L: up to 19.7 inch

Sold.

33 Cassis cornuta

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

fourteen pieces, i.a. big Cassis cornuta, Indopacific, additional: snails and mussels, e.g. adnate Spondylus, two Conus leopardus, auger shell

L: 30 cm, 6 - 14 cm
L: 11.8 inch, 6 - 5.5 inch

Sold.

34 Haliotis

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

three pieces, i.a. abalones, inside nacre, shimmering in different colours, one of the mussels with a bright red shell

L: 19 cm
L: 7.5 inch

Sold.

35 Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica)

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

three pieces, of typical form, grown from one seed, slight traces of abrasion; the Coco de Mer is a palm tree, endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. Formerly it was known as Maldive Coconut. Its scientific name, Lodoicea maldivica, originated before the 18th century when the Seychelles were uninhabited. In centuries past the coconuts that fell from the trees and ended up in the sea would be carried away westwards by the prevailing sea currents. The nuts can only float after the germination process, when they are hollow. In this way many drifted to the Maldives where they were gathered from the beaches and valued as an important trade and medicinal item. Until the true source of nut was discovered in 1768, it was believed by many to grow on a mythical tree at the bottom of the sea. European nobles in the sixteenth century would often have the shells of these nuts cleaned and decorated with valuable jewels as collectibles for their private galleries. The Coco de Mer is now a rare protected species.

H: 23- 25 cm
H: 23- 9.8 inch

Sold.

36 Part of a banksia plant (banksia)

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

wood, of irregular conical form with a rough surface, seat of the original infrutescences recognizable; Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres tall.

H: 50 cm, ~ 300 years old
H: 19.7 inch, ~ 300 years old

Provenance
Jessy Folkerts, Australia

Price: 150 - 300 €

37 Sword of a sawfish (Pristis pectinatus)

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

kind of shark ray, complete with 36 teeth, in a good state of preservation; the sword, also called rostrum is covered with motion- and electro-sensitive pores that allow sawfish to detect movement and even heartbeats of buried prey in the ocean floor. It is also used as a digging tool to unearth buried crustaceans. When a suitable prey swims by, the normally lethargic sawfish will spring from the bottom and slash at it furiously with its saw. This generally stuns or injures the prey sufficiently for the sawfish to devour it without much resistance. Sawfishes have also been known to defend themselves with their rostrum, against predators (like sharks) and intruding divers. The "teeth" protruding from the rostrum are not real teeth, but modified denticle scales.

L: 75,5 cm
L: 29.7 inch

Price: 750 - 1500 €

38 Sword of a sawfish (Pristis pectinatus)

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

kind of shark ray, example of unusual size, complete with 36 teeth, min. dam.; the teeth are relicts of fish scales, they were used as arrow heads or awls. Women used them for knotting nets for fishing. Sawfish can be found along the shore and estuarys of broad rivers, where they were hunted by the Asmat, not only because of their flesh; because of the danger of hunting rays (they are said to attack their opponents when they were wounded) the swords are kept as hunting trophees (alike boar tusks or parts of cassowarys).

L: 93 cm
L: 36.6 inch

Literature
Helfrich, Klaus u.a., Asmat, Mythos und Kunst im Leben mit den Ahnen, Musuem für Völkerkunde, Berlin 1996, p. 50, ill. 2.42

Sold.

39 Snake skin

This object is not available any more.

Curiosities

of a Rock python (Python sebae), yellowish beige coloration with brown marks, min. dam., small tears and holes; this species reaches a length of up to 7 metres. It normally flees humans but when it gets excited or just killed some prey it could became dangerous to humans.

L: 539 cm
L: 212.2 inch

Provenance
Private Collection, Stuttgart, Germany

Literature
Fuchs, Karlheinz und Manuel, Die Reptilhaut, Ein wichtiger Merkmalsträger bei der Identifizierung von Echsen und Schlangen, Frankfurt am Main 2003, p. 182

Sold.

40 dropped

This object is not available any more.