Carter B. Horsley The bad news is that the African Oceanic Art auction offering at Sotheby's this season has fewer lots, but the good news is that Pre-Columbia Art is once again being offered at auction there after missing a couple of seasons. Eighty-four lots of African & Oceanic Art are being offered in the morning May 14, 2004 and there are 106 lots in the Pre-Columbian Art in the afternoon session of the same sale. Both parts are included in the same catalogue. Lot 114 is a great Late Chimu/Inca silver face beaker that is 13 ½ inches high. According to the catalogue, "this magnificent effigy beaker represents one of the few large silver objects that survived the voracious Spanish melting of precious metals in the 15th Century. The object is dated circa A.D. 1300-1500. It has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $84,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.
Even more imposing is Lot 175, a Zapotic figural urn, Monte Alban IIIA. The 18-inch-high object is dated circa A.D. 200-400 and has an estimate of $20,000 to $40,000. It sold for $125,600. The object depicts the Goddess Quetzal with her hands on folded legs wearing and elaborate headdress. The catalogue notes that Monte Alban was capital of the Zapotec kingdom and was one of the largest cities of the southern Mexican highlands from about A.D. 200 to A.D. 700.
More colorful and bigger but a bit calmer than Lot 175 is Lot 177, a Teotihuacan incensario lid, Pacific Slope Region, Escuintla style, Classic, circa A.D. 450-650. A warrior looks out from an architectural frame beneath what the catalogue describes as the "toothy gum of a bat, with upcurled snout and large ringed eyes." The 23-inch-high object has remains of pigment overall and has an estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $16,800.
These two impressive lots encompass the great majesty and complexity of Pre-Columbian design. Lot 176, a Veracruz effigy vessel in the form of a turkey, late Classic, circa A.D. 550-950 is equally monumental but much more recognizable/decipherable. The 23-inch-high object is an "occellated turkeyfound in the Yucatan penisula and tropical lowland forest edges." "This avian, with its distinctive feathers with eye-like markings, played an important role in the prevailing Mayan iconography of the Early through Late Classic period. The turkey with full outspread feathers is shown on a codex vessel with a peccary, in which both animals possibly represent constellations.On Early Classic polychrome basal-flanged lidded vessels, the turkey is shown with its head serving as a handle, and the magnificent wings are painted in a serpent-wing fashion, connecting the avian to the power of serpents and their association to the watery Underworld," the catalogue entry maintained. No lion could not fail to be intimidated by this turkey's incredible chest! The lot has a modest estimate of $18,000 to $24,000. It sold for $36,000.
Lot 144 is a delightful group of six Colima figures, circa 300-100 B.C. The tallest figurine is 7 7/8 inches high. Among the celebrants is a snake-dancer. The lot has a very modest estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $4,200. A less jolly giant is Lot 157, a large Nayarit standing warrior, Ixtlán del Rio style, 34 inches high, Protoclassic, circa 100 B.C.-A.D. 250. According to the catalogue, "this warrior is from a small group of monumental figures of the Ixtlán del Rio style. They typically display their status in stationary postures, holding iconic objects and wearing clothing of their rank." The catalogue entry added that this figure was "once part of a funerary couple, holding a fan in the left hand." It has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It failed to sell.
A work from the same period as Lot 157 is Lot 165, a jalisco effigy vessel with the head of a creature resembling an anteater. The 12 ½-inch-high object has an estimate of $6,000 to $9,000. It sold for $7,200.
Veracruz yokes are fabulous sculptures that Noguchi would be proud of and Lot 181 is a strongly modeled one from the Classic period, A.D. 450-650. It is 16 ¼ inches long and has an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $34,800. It depicts a stylized Mexican toad buso marinus that has glands containing the hallucinogenic toxins that played an important part in ritual ceremonies, the catalogue entry noted. The auction has two fine Mayan polychrome plates, Late Classic, circa A.D. 550-950.
Lot 192 is 14 5/8 inches in diameter. It depicts a "corpulent lord standing before a large bench throne and wearing a headdress of a snouted monster. It has an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $18,000.
Lot 193 is 15 ½ inches in diameter and shows a warrior wearing a "shaggy" costume and holding a trophy head. The object was included in the exhibition "Masterpieces of Pre-Columbian Art from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Peter G. Wray" in 1984 at the Andre Emmerich and Perls Galleries in New York. It has an estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $36,000.
The Costa Rican curved stone tables with three legs are wonderful and Lot 133 is a good example. The zoomorphic metate from the Guanacaste-Nicoya region is dated Late Period IV-V, circa A.D. 300-700. It is 26 1/2 inches long and has a modest estimate of $6,000 to $7,000. It sold for $13,200.
Lot 158 is a superb Nayarit female and child, San Sebastian style, Protoclassic, circa 100 B.C.-A.D. 250. The 20-inch high statue has a modest estimate of $4,500 to $6,500. It failed to sell.