By Carter B. Horsley

This auction of African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art at Sotheby's May 17, 2007 includes several major works from the Albright-Knox Gallery of Art in Buffalo including an impressive Benin metal head of an Oba, circa 1575-1625, and a marvelous Aztec stone figure of a goddess with a tasseled headdress.

The Benin head, Lot 121, is 9 1/4 inches high and probably brass, and was reportedly collected by a member of the British Punitive Expedition in 1897. It has been widely published and exhibited.

The kingdom of Benin flourished in Nigeria during the 16th Century when, according to the catalogue entry for this lot, it "became the dominant military power and imperial force on the West Coast of Africa." In 1897, the British army, the entry continued, "responding to the murder of a British vice-consul, captured Benin's capital and destroyed the royal palace. Around 3,000 castings, most notably also the Albright-Knox head, were taken as loot to London and later dispersed throughout museums and private collecitons around the world. The technical perfection and mastery of Benin castings had been unheard of for objects coming from Africa. Their arrival in Europe significantly changed the perception of African people and their culture in the eyes of Westerners, earning Benin artists a legendary reputation until today."

The lot has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $4,744,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article. The sale was quite successful with 129 of the 147 offered lots selling for $10,769,720.

Lot 123 is a Benin plaque of a warrior, circa 17th Century, that is 17 3/4 inches high. It has an $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $120,000.

Lot 122 is a weathered and partially eroded wood bust of a female from the Republic of benin. It is 10 inches high and property of the Albright-Knox Gallery of Art. It was once in the collection of Charles Ratton of Paris. The catalogue notes that the nose, mouth and part of the forehead have been chipped away and that a vertical hole extends through the core of the piece and that iron tacks near the nose may be remains of an early repair "and testify to the unusual importance of the piece in its original cultural context." It has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $168,000.

Lot 199 is an interesting Igbo shrine figure from Nigeria that is 18 1/4 inches high. It is property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was formerly in the collection of Ernst Anspach of New York and the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection of the Museum of Primitive Art in New York. It has a very modest estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. It sold for $15,600.

Lot 130 is a good Songe power figure from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is 12 3/4 inches high and is property of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It has a modest estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. It sold for $12,000.

Another Songe piece is Lot 151, a large and handsome Kifwebe mask. It is 22 3/4 inches high. The catalogue notes that "the deep striations painted with various colors recall the metaphysical labyrinth the initiates have to stride during their initiation. The lot has a modest estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $57,000.

Lot 150 is a large and impressive Songe male community power figure. It is 30 1/4 inches high. The figure is wearing a fiber skirt and the arms rest on a swollen abdomen with two magic hair bundles wrapped around the chest and a bell hanging from the back. The lot has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $114,000.

Lot 112 is a good Bamana mask from Mali. It is 19 inches high and is property of the collection of Kirk and Anne Douglas of Los Angeles. It was once in the collection of J. J. Klejman. It has a modest estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $13,200.

Lot 107 is a rare female figure, Turamarubi People, Gulf Province, Papula New Guinea. It is 44 inches high and was formerly in the collection of Wayne Heathcote and the Masco Corporation and was published in the catalogue of an exhibition of the Masco collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1995. It was offered in the May 17, 2002 auction at Sotheby's when it has a modest estimate of $40,000 to $60,000 and sold for $95,600. The estimate in this auction is $125,000 to $175,000. It sold for $114,000.

Lot 105 is a very impressive ceremonial adze from Cook Island in the South Sandwich Islands. It is 28 1/8 inches high and was probably collected by Captain Stephen Martin (1780-1873). It has a modest estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. It sold for $4,500.

Lot 103 is a fine Solomon Islands canoe prow ornament that is 14 inches high. It was once in the collection of Charles Ratton of Paris. The catalogue notes that "Most figureheads depict the head and arms of an anthropomorphic being, decorated with nautilus shell inset in patterns which replicate those found on the faces of warriors." "Their existence is documented as early as the middle of the eighteenth centuy in the journal of the French solider, navigator and explorer, Louis de Bougainville, who gave his name to the northernmost island," it maintained, adding that "the impressive size and great age of this prow ornament attest to the importance of this ritual object."

The lot has an estimate of $125,000 to $175,000. It sold for $216,000.

Lot 239 is a splendid stone Aztec figure of the Goddess with the Tasseled Headdress known as Chalchiuhtlicue. It is 20 inches high and dated circa A.D. 1400-1521. It is property of the Albright-Knox Gallery of Art and once was in the collection of Charles Ratton of Paris. The goddess is associated with water and described as the wife, consort or sister to the powerful rain god Tlaloc. She has deeply incised cheeks, which, the catalogue notes, would have been filled with stone or shell. The lot has a conservative estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $1,216,000.

Lot 185 is a superb Teotihuacan stone mask, Classic, circa A.D. 450-650. It is 8 inches high. The catalogue notes that "This mask's idealized beauty, massive yet balanced proportions and original shell inlay make it one of the finest examples of the masks of Teotihuacan - the greatest Mesoamerican metropolis of the Classic era." "The masks were headstones," it continued, "for elaborately clothed effigies with the characteristic flattened top of the head and perforations used to support and attach the headdress and other accoutrements." The lot has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $684,000.

Lot 191 is a fine small Teotihuacan stone figure, Protoclassic/Early Classic, circa A.D. 200-400. It is 6 1/4 inches high. It has a modest estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $12,000.

Lot 231 is a very fine Veracruz Late Classic, stone yoke of a shaman grasping rattlesnakes, Classic, A.D. 450-650. It is 16 1/2 inches long. It has a modest estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $92,000.