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. David Roche, specialist in American Indian art, said, “We arethrilled with the results of the sale, which totaled $3,446,866,far over the high estimate of $2.6 million. The Farquharsoncollection, an incredibly rare and early group of artifacts,brought outstanding prices, and every lot of this extraordinarycollection was ultimately purchased by one American privatecollector. “The exceptional provenance and condition of the materialresonated with this buyer, who recognized the incredibleopportunity in keeping this collection intact. Additionally, we sawa number of new bidders enter the field and observed a resultingdiversity among the buyers. Records were set for an example ofwoodlands Indian material, as well as for two icons of AmericanIndian 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.
12 Jul 2005 / 0 Comment
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