The sale of American Indian art on May 13 at Sotheby's totaled
$3,446,866, far above the high estimate of $2.6 million, and was
95.4 percent sold by value and 92.3 percent sold by lot.
The sale's top lot was an early Tlingit or Haida sheep horn bowl,
selling for $251,200.
A pair of Great Lakes Algonkian beaded and quilled woven
pictorial garter pendants set a record for an example of Great
Lakes material at auction, realizing $240,000.
David Roche, specialist in American Indian art, said, "We are
thrilled with the results of the sale, which totaled $3,446,866,
far over the high estimate of $2.6 million. The Farquharson
collection, an incredibly rare and early group of artifacts,
brought outstanding prices, and every lot of this extraordinary
collection was ultimately purchased by one American private
collector.
This Eastern Great Lakes stone pipe and quilled wood pipestem
sold for a record $180,000.
"The exceptional provenance and condition of the material
resonated with this buyer, who recognized the incredible
opportunity in keeping this collection intact. Additionally, we saw
a number of new bidders enter the field and observed a resulting
diversity among the buyers. Records were set for an example of
woodlands Indian material, as well as for two icons of American
Indian art - moccasins and the pipe - at auction."
Setting a record for an example of Great Lakes material at
auction, a pair of Great Lakes Algonkian beaded and quilled woven
pictorial garter pendants brought $240,000. The record-setting
American Indian pipe, an Eastern Great Lakes stone pipe and
quilled wood pipestem, drew a winning bid of $180,00, and the
moccasins were a pair of Lorette-Huron moosehair embroidered
black-dyed buckskin moccasins, which sold for a record $96,000.
Rounding out the sale's top ten lots were: a birchbark model
canoe and two dolls with assorted equipment, $204,000; an
Algonkian quilled and beaded woven pouch, $192,000; a collection
of Plains pictographic drawings, $114,000; an Iroquois quilled
and beaded hide knife sheath, $108,000; and a Tsimshian
polychrome wood puppet, $96,000.
Prices reported include buyer's premium.
For information, 212-606-7000 or www.sothebys.com.
