The combined auction May 15, 2009 at Sotheby's of African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbia Art is highlighted by numerous superb works of art from Papua New Guinea, an excellent figural insensario of a deity from Veracruz, a very good Zapotec figural urn with Cocijo deity medallions from Monte Alban, and some very good Mayan figures as well as an important Fang-Betsi reliquary head from Gabon, and a good Dogon female ancestor figure from Mali.
Lot 146 is a "magnificent, extremely rare and important Urama Island, Iwaino, Kinomere Village, half-figure of the god, Iriwake, from Papua New Guinea. The 49 1/5-inch high wooden sculpture was collected in situ by Thomas Schultze-Westrum in 1966 and eventually was in the collection of John Friede of Rye, New York. It was exhibited at the Rijksmueum Kroller-Muller from 1990-1991.
It has an "estimate on request" and sold for $1,202,500 including the buyer's premium.
The catalogue essay on the lot provides the following commentary:
"One of the great masterpieces from the Papuan Gulf Region of Papua New Guinea, the Half-figure of the God Iriwake is an image of monumental majesty and magical power. Only one other figure of this extremely rare iconography is known to exist....The Papuan Gulf of New Guinea is one of the island's most important cultural regions. However, until recently this art was little known and only less than two years ago entered the limelight of international attention, following an encylopedic exhibition on the art of this region at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art and Society in the Papuan Gulf of New Guinea....) As the exhibition's curator, Professor Robert Welsch, notes in the accompanying catalogue...: 'Known to outsiders for well over a century, this region's art has remained one of the least understood art traditions on the island. The gulf region extends for some three hundred miles along the south coast of Papua New Guinea, from the Fly River in the west to Cape Possession in the east, about one hundred miles northwest of Port Moresby, the modern, bustling national capital. Around Cape Possession the savannah-covered hills of the capital region give way to the lower, rainforest-clad hills of the Motu-Motu area, which in turn give way to much flatter, low-lying, and swampy country further to the west. In the eastern gulf area live more than a dozen closely related Elema peoples, including the Motu-Motu, Toaripi, Kerema, Vailala, and Orokolo. West of the Alele River begins the delta country, which is inhabited by the six peoples of the Purari Delta, who speak a language different from but related to that spoken by the Elema peoples. Furtherwest live the peoples of Urama Island....'
"According to Dirk Smidt, 'Two-dimensional boards and figures from the Gulf of Papua have, due to the linear qualities of the relief motifs, attracted the aqttention of Western artists. Thus the art of the Gulf of Papua formed one of he favorite styles of Max Ernst who was so fascinated by it that he assembled a collection of more than twenty-five woodcarvings from this area." Many other authors have pointed out further affinities between the art from the Papuan Gulf and the work of modern artists....'
"For more than 30 years, the Half-figure of IRIWAKE counted among the most iconic masterpieces of the renowned van Bussel Collection in Amsterdam. In 1990 the work was included the landmark exhibition Sculpture from Africa and Oceania in the Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, an encyclopedic show curated by Frank Herreman that juxtaposed major works of African and Oceanic Art. As Smidt....explains inhe accompanying catalog, the name IRIWAKE probably derives from iri (wood, tree, jungle) and vake (human being). 'Iriwake' was a mythical figure who occupied an important place in the world view both of the Iwaino and of other tribes in the easternpart of the (river) delta. He was seen as a powerful spirit or deity who laid the foundations for headhunting and the display of trophies in the men's houses. In primeval time he climbed to the sky up a tall tree to remain enthroned as heavenly deity in the clouds, from where he now and again releases thunder and lightning."
"The van Bussel IRIWAKE, an anthropomorphic torso with massive raised arms framing the elliptically shaped head, was clearly worked with stone tools and thus can be dated to the pre-contact period. Its iconography is extremely rare. The only other known example was photographed in situ in 1925 by Paul B. de Rauenfeld, a former inspector for the Chinese Maritime Customs Service who worked in Asia for thirty years and traveled extensively before and after his mandatory retirement in 1925, including three trips toPapua New Guinea. The circumstances of the discovery of this figure are described by Webb....and of great relevance as to the importance and placement of such effigies in situ: 'During Rautenfeld's 1925 trip, Benjamin Butcher, the London Missionary Society preacher stationed at Aird Hills, told him about a figure called IRIWAKE, and Rautenfeld's diary relates the circumstances of their journey to see and photograph the sculpture on May 19, 1925...: 'I proceeded at once to Maiaki in order to avail myself of the high tide. Mr. Butcher had informed me of the war-god Iriwake there whom I wanted to photograph...reaching Maiaki in half an hour at noon just when the tide was running. The village is divided into two separate parts by a small bridged creek which falls from the right into the one we came down.....I landed on the left at the Vaimuru section.....where a typical dubu daia (long-house) attracted my attention. Inside the front entrance in the right, there was IRIWAKE, one of the rare specimens of its kind still remaining in the Urama District. The famous god of war is a flat effigy about five feet high in black, red and white with boar's tusks encircling the top of his nose and grass skirt surrounding his loins. Fibre tassels are attached to his ears and a mairi (neck-shell) painted in white across his chest and white horse-shoe-like figures on his belly are much in evidence. His head, uplifted arms and hands are also marked with broad whitelines. Instead of the legs there is a long pole which is struck through the floor into the mud underneath the building. Though it was very dark in the men's house, I succeeded in taking a portrait of IRIWAKE by means of a five minutes' exposure.'...
"Smidt....continues: 'Although the theme of upraised arms occurs often enough in the art of woodcarving of the central section of the Gulf of Papua...., the impressive arms of this piece...are so exceptional that at first sight they can be compared to just one published example. And that example is in a private collection too. The dimensions of the arms are virtually identical, but include more details, such as wrist-joints, and figures rendered with painted stripes. Moreover, the trunk is lozenge-shaped and at the lower extremity probably by pole-shaped at one time, the figure has a belt of bark and a 'skirt' of fibers...It is possible that the serrated motif on the arms....refers to...lighting flashes. It is also present on the (other figure), but less emphatically, being flanked by what is evidently a rendition of arm bones. Carved on the breast....is the representation of a neck or breast pendant of mother-of-pearl....In its form and luster this ornament refers to the moon and thus makes a suitable decoration for a heavenly deity. Besides the practical function, the pole-like lower extremity without legs may well refer to a myth, which relates how IRIWAKE was divided into two, upon which the two halves were distributed between the people of the Era and those of the Kerewa region (west of Urama Island), after these had fought to possess him."
"...Of particular interest are the horizontal nose-stick and the circular breast-pendant which were both found together with the figure. Both objects are made of the shell of tridacna gigas, the giant clam, an extremely prestigous material in Papua New Guinea since it is so hard to obtain."
Another work of art that was once owned by John A. Friede is Lot 153, a marvelous, spindly rare Arapesh or Boiken male ancestor figure from the Prince Alexander Mountains in Papua New Guinea. It was discovered in situ by Wayne Heathcote in the 1960s. It is 64 1/2 inches high and has a modest estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $86,500.
A third work from the collection of Mr. Friede is Lot 147, a "superb" Middle Sepik River female suspension hook, Papua New Guinea. It is 39 3/4 inches high and has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $98,500. The catalogue entry for this lot identifies Pierre Verite of Paris as one of its earlier owners adding that "an artist by training" he started to collect African and Oceanic art at the very beginning of public interest in these fields. Just after World War I, African Art was sold by paintings dealers, such as Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler and Paul Guillaume. It was not until the 1930s that a few dealers began to specialize in tribal art, among them major figures such as Charles Ratton and Pierre Loeb. "In the early 1930s, Pierre Verite lived in the artist colony known as 'La Ruche' (The Hive) and opened his first gallery in primitive art. In 1937, he opened the Gallerie Carrefour on the Boulevard Raspail, which soon became a hangout for artists and collectors such as Pablo Picasso, Helena Rubenstein, Nancy Cunard and Andre Breton. The catalogue describes this work of art as "of whimsical expression, masterfully unified grace and power of the ancestral spirit represented."
Yet another work from the Friede collection is Lot 143, a rare Chambri, Middle Sepik River, Suspension Hook, Papua New Guinea. It is 28 1/4 inches high and has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $40,000. Aesthetically, it is far more interesting and attractive than Lot 147. It was collected in situ by Etienne and Monique de Ganay in 1935 who were traveling with lettres de mision from the Musee de l'Homme in Paris and it was, according to the catalogue, "one of the last great amateur expeditions....perhaps the last able to gather such a large number of authentic artifacts." The group, which included three other individuals brought back about 2,800 objects, "some of which were exhibited the new Musee de l'Homme in 1983, and which are now in the Louvre and the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris.
The Friede Collection is also represented by Lot 152, one of the most interesting lots in the auction, a superb Iatmul, Parambei subgroup, Janiform Spirit Figure House post, Wundjumbu, Middle Sepik River, Parambei (Palimbei) Village, Papua New Guinea. It is 96 1/2 inches high and has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $266,500. The work was photographed in situ by Gregory Bateson in Parambei village before 1936 and collected the rein the 1960s and was acquired by Mr. Friede in the 1970s. Mr. Bateson was a British, Cambridge-educated social anthropologist, social scientest, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician and cyberneticist. From 1936 to 1947 he was married to Margaret Mead.
Lot 151 is a Sepik Riverhook figure from Papua New Guinea that is 37 1/4 inches high and comes from Charles Ratton in Paris. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $110,500.
Lot 144, a fine Sepik River Janus-headed bowl that is 9 3/4 inches long. The work has a crocodile head at one end and a pig's head at the other. It has an estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $35,000.
One of the major highlights of the African Art section of this auction is Lot 170, a superb, rate and highly important Fang-Betsi reliquary head that is 13 1/4 inches high and comes from Charles Ratton in Paris. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $506,500.
This magnificent head was identified as a typical example of the "school of Mitzic" a regional substyle of the Fang-Betsi. The offered lot, according to the catalogue entry, "is distinguished by the relatively small size of the face, the bulbous forehead, and a compressed profile, all combining to a maximum effect when seen from the front."
"When the young abstract painter John P. Anderson from Redwing, Minnesota, travelled to New York with fellow artist Charles Biederman to see the exhibition African Negro Art at the recently founded Museum of Modern Art (March 19 - May 19, 1935)," the entry continued, "never before had there been a public exhibition of African art in the United States. Many young progressive artists such as Anderson and Biederman wanted to experience some of the inspirational sources for the artists of 20th Century European avant-garde such as Picasso, Matisse, and Leger. The show had a major impact on Anderson. Spontaneously, he decided to visit two nearby Modern Art galleries, both situated on 57th Street, who were holding special exhibitions timed to coincide with African Negro Art: Valentine Gallery was showing Comparative Primitive Sculpture and Pierre Matisse Gallery African Sculptures from The Ratton Collection. Anderson acquired eight works from the Charles Ratton Collection at Pierre Matisse Gallery and five works from the Louis Carré Collection at Valentine Gallery on the same day of April 27, 1935. Anderson, who had borrowed money from his father in order to finance the acquisition, never purchased a single work of African art again and cherished the trophies from his 1935 trip to New York lovingly until his death in 1999. Since it's 1935 exhibition, the head has remained unseen by the public for more than seventy years. Although it was published three times since, the head was never photographed again (all publications showed archival photographs or drawings). Its rediscovery in 2008 marks an important event in the history of African art."
Lot 158 is a "superb" Dogon, Wakara style, female ancestor figure from Mali that is 27 1/2 inches high. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $218,500. The sculpture was once in the collection of Rosemary and George Lois of New York and the catalogue notes that "within the broad opus of Dogon statuary, examples of the Wakara sub-style are exceedingly rare." "The Wakara style," the catalogue entry continued, "originated around Douentza, a village at the southern Bandiagara cliff. According to Hélène Leloup (1994: 100), the three vertical features below the eyes are typical scarification marks of the Kassambara, the first immigrants to the area. These marks, along with the three parallel lines which stretch from the temples to the chin (a feature considered to come from the eastern part of the cliff) and the Songhai origin of the jagged coiffure all testify to the old and complex history of the area's settlement."
Lot 102 is an impressive gold Sican mask, circa A.D. 900-1200. It is 11 1/2 inches high and has a modest estimate of $7,000 to $9,000. It sold for $18,750. It is, according to the catalogue, "finely hammered with ear flanges ending in feline head ornaments, the face decorated with bands of red pigment, with gold pupls nd gold dangles, the copper eyes and U-shaped nose ornament later additions." It came from Andre Emmerich Inc., in 1969.
Lot 128 is an impressive and rare Veracruz head with cutaway masks, possibly Puebla region. It is dated circa A.D. 700-1200 and is is 11 1/4 inches high. It has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $134,500. It was once in the collection of Jay C. Leff. The catalogue notes that "This captivating portrayal of the life cycle relates to themes of duality and rebirth that are prevalent in ancient Mesoamerica. The cutaway mask device evokes imagery such as the "shared face" figurines of Preclassic Valley of Mexico, the life/death split images on Classic pottery from Oaxaca and the Veracruz and Huastec regions; also with the X-ray style masks as seen on Maya pottery. This face probably attached to a brazier or incensario, as seen on Oaxacan incensarios...."
Lot 136 is a fine standing dignitary, Mayan, Jaina, Late Classic, circa A.D. 550-950. It is 6 1/2 inches high and has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.