The Native American artifacts collection of the late Herbert G. Wellington, considered by some to be the one of the most distinguished of its kind, crossed the auction block at Stair Galleries over the weekend of May 23. Wellington collected the items over the course of three decades, and objects from virtually every major tribe in North America were included.
The Wellington collection comprised almost 300 of the 320 lots offered during the course of the Native American artifacts session. Other items sold carried a provenance of property formerly in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery, the collection of Muriel Karasik and the estate of Fred and Lois Rogers.
While the “varsity items [from the Wellington collection] went to Sotheby’s,” according to auctioneer Colin Stair, the 300-plus lots of Native American items sold during Stair Galleries American Indian Works of Art At Auction on May 23 attracted a great deal of interest. “Everything here is the real deal,” commented the auctioneer, “and the provenance is impeccable.” Also included in the auction was a rare offering of the angling library of Wellington.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited items from the Wellington Native American collection in 1983, and numerous objects in the sale were discussed and illustrated in the 1982 tome Pleasing the Spirits: A Catalogue of a Collection of American Indian Art by Douglas C. Ewing.
A good crowd was on hand for the auction, and preview was particularly active. “We have reached out and made numerous collecting groups aware of the collections that are here,” stated Stair. Everyone from museum curators and historical collectors for the Native American items and fly fisherman clubs and book collectors for the angling library was contacted.
“We are sticking to our original recipe,” stated the auctioneer in regard to the changing tides affecting auctions these days, “customer service.”
Tepid beginnings were noted as the sale commenced with the first two lots of Woodlands baskets, carrying low estimates of $100, failing to find buyers. The next couple of lots sold well below estimates, with a group of 13 Pima miniature baskets selling at only $57, followed by three Seminole baskets that hammered down at $34.
It did not take long for the trend to reverse itself, however, as a Zuni terraced bowl with paint decorated water serpents, frogs and dragonflies sold at $2,300.
The top lot of the auction came as a woven “Central California” belt was offered. In brown with white geometric designs, the belt had been illustrated in Ewing’s book, and considerable interest was expressed as the lot crossed the auction block. Soaring past the $2/2,500 presale estimate, the belt hammered down at $18,400.
California items were hotly competed for, with a tightly woven bowl-shaped basket with geometric decorations handily surpassing the $1,5/2,500 estimate as it realized $12,650. Also sold was a set of five northern California elk antler spoons that hammered down at $7,475.
A Sioux woman’s dress with dentalium shell decoration was a highlight of the clothing lots; it sold for $12,650. Numerous pairs of moccasins were offered throughout the day, with a pair of Southern Plains Kiowa beaded examples bringing $2,875, while a pair of Southern Plains Comanche leggings sold at $2,990.
Several ladles brought hefty prices, with a Northwest Wasco-Wishram carved horn ladle with carved bird effigy leading the way at $12,650. Another Wasco-Wishram ladle, this one in burl with a carved handle ending in an animal head, realized $9,200, and yet another Wasco-Wishram horn ladle brought $5,750.
Figural pipe bowls also did well, with an Eastern woodlands Micmac figural pipe with carved beavers ascending the side of the bowl selling at $9,200. A Woodlands Chippewa steatite and catlinite pipe with inlay brought $8,625, while a Northwest Coast wood and copper pipe bowl brought $6,325.
A Plains “Ghost Dance” shield was yet another of the lots to take off as it sold for numerous times the presale estimates. The shield with a paint decorated eagle and applied tassels opened for bidding well above the $2/3 ,000 estimate on its way to a selling price of $9,200. The same price was also achieved for a carved and paint decorated Northwest Coast totem.
A Metis-Cree beaded cloth octopus bag in red did well at $8,050, while a black cloth beaded octopus bag from the Northwest territories went out at $7,475.
Other items of interest included a Woodlands war club with tack decoration and a protruding iron blade that was knocked down at $7,475, an Iowa otter skin medicine bag sold at $5,462, and two Wasco twined wallets brought $5,750.
The sale also offered Wellington’s extensive angling library, rare in part because it dealt solely with fresh water angling. “This is pretty cool stuff,” commented Stair as he looked the books over. Signed editions, books with actual flies displayed in shadow-box style pages&†the assortment attracted a huge amount of interest.
The opening lot of the books was a first edition book from 1869 by R.G Allerton, Brook Trout Fishing. An Account Of A Trip Of The Oquossoc Angling Association To Southern Maine, In June, 1869 . Bound in blue blindstamped cloth with gilt decoration and having a folding chromolithograph plate of a brook trout, Grand Trout Supper menu on pink paper and other wood engraved plates, the book was actively bid to $920.
Of the 100-plus lots, a few were passed after no interest was expressed; bidding was keen, however, on the vast majority of the books.
The lowest price of the session was $230, while the highest price was for an English book from 1980 by John Goddard and Brian Clarke titled The Trout And The Fly, A New Approach. Bound in full green morocco by Aquarius, the book was one of 25 copies signed by Goddard, Clarke and Stewart Conham, the fly tyer. It included seven hand tied flies by Conham in an oval sunken mount and carried a presale estimate of $1/1,500; when bidding had concluded, it realized $3,450.
Prices include the buyer’s premium charged. For further information, 518-751-1000, or www.stairgalleries.com .
