Sotheby's New York
May 14, 2018
Sale 9856
Lot 161, Bamana Mask, Mali, 25 inches high
By Carter B. Horsley
The May 14, 2018 auction of the Art of Africa, Oceana and the Americas at Sotheby's New York is highlighted by a Bamana Mask from Mali that was exhibited in 1935 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a Baule Male Figure from the Cote d'Ivoire that was once owned by Maurice de Vlaminck, the painter, a Mabila figure from Cameron that was once owned by Martin Lerner, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Lot 161 is a very good Bamana mask from Mali that is 25 inches high and was published three times by James Johnson Sweeney. It was also exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the 1999 exhibition "Mad for Modernism, Earl Horter and his Collection."
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:
"In 1934, Alfred Barr, the director of the newly founded Museum of Modern Art in New York, initiated a profound and audacious exhibition project which would dramatically influence the world's understanding of African art. Barr enlisted the curator James Johnson Sweeney to organize the first major exhibition dedicated to art from that continent at an American institution. With the help of Louis Carre and Charles Ratton, Sweeney and Barr gathered together more than five hundred major pieces for what would become a canon-defining event. African Negro Art opened at MOMA the following spring and ran from March 16 to May 19, 1935. The exhibited works presented a picture of the taste for African art among artists and connoisseurs of the period. Works which were included in this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue have become icons of the genre."
The lot has an estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. It failed to sell.
The sale total was $7,133,750 with 71 of the offered 80 lots selling.
Lot 166, Baule male figure, Cote d'Ivoire, 41 inches high
Lot 172, Mambila figure, Cameroon, 17 1/2 inches high
Lot 117, Spirit figiure from a sacred flute. Biwat, Yuat River, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, 30 1/2 inches high
Lot 162, seven Bamana aardvark marionette heads, Mali, length of longest 12 3/4 inches
Lot 134, Teotihuacan stone standing figure, Guerrero region, Late Preclassic/Early Classic, circa AD 200-400, 13 8/8 inches high
Lot 145, Maya figure of a warrior, Jana, Late Classic, circa AD 550-950, 11 34 inches high
Lot 146, Ulua marble bowl with effigy handles, Late Classic, circa AD 550-950, 12 1/2 inches long
Lot 142, Standing priestess, Veracruz, Nopiloa, Late Classic, AD 550-950, 15 1/4 inches high
The May 14, 2018 auction of the Art of Africa, Oceana and the Americas at Sotheby's New York is highlighted by a Bamana Mask from Mali that was exhibited in 1935 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a Baule Male Figure from the Cote d'Ivoire that was once owned by Maurice de Vlaminck, the painter, a Mabila figure from Cameron that was once owned by Martin Lerner, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Lot 161 is a very good Bamana mask from Mali that is 25 inches high and was published three times by James Johnson Sweeney. It was also exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the 1999 exhibition "Mad for Modernism, Earl Horter and his Collection."
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:
"In 1934, Alfred Barr, the director of the newly founded Museum of Modern Art in New York, initiated a profound and audacious exhibition project which would dramatically influence the world's understanding of African art. Barr enlisted the curator James Johnson Sweeney to organize the first major exhibition dedicated to art from that continent at an American institution. With the help of Louis Carre and Charles Ratton, Sweeney and Barr gathered together more than five hundred major pieces for what would become a canon-defining event. African Negro Art opened at MOMA the following spring and ran from March 16 to May 19, 1935. The exhibited works presented a picture of the taste for African art among artists and connoisseurs of the period. Works which were included in this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue have become icons of the genre."
The lot has an estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. It failed to sell.
The sale total was $7,133,750 with 71 of the offered 80 lots selling.
Lot 166, Baule male figure, Cote d'Ivoire, 41 inches high
Lot
166 is a fine Baule male figure from the Cote d'Ivoire. It is 41
inches tall.
It was once in the collection of Maurice de Vlaminck, the painter.
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary by Jack Flam in the catalogue "Primitivism in 20th Century Art":
"After having painted out-of-doors on a hot, bright day, Vlaminck stopped at a bistro in Argenteuil for some refreshment. As he stood drinking, he noticed on a shelf behind the far three African objects. Two of them...were from Dahomey, and a third, unpainted and dark, was from the Ivory Coast. So struck by the force of these objects he persuaded the owner to let him have them in exchange for buying the house a round of drinks....Vlaminck stated that he had already seen African sculptures on several visits to the Trocadero museum with [Andre} Derain, but that he had then regarded them merely as 'barbaric fetishes' of no particular aesthetic interest."
It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $187,500.
It was once in the collection of Maurice de Vlaminck, the painter.
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary by Jack Flam in the catalogue "Primitivism in 20th Century Art":
"After having painted out-of-doors on a hot, bright day, Vlaminck stopped at a bistro in Argenteuil for some refreshment. As he stood drinking, he noticed on a shelf behind the far three African objects. Two of them...were from Dahomey, and a third, unpainted and dark, was from the Ivory Coast. So struck by the force of these objects he persuaded the owner to let him have them in exchange for buying the house a round of drinks....Vlaminck stated that he had already seen African sculptures on several visits to the Trocadero museum with [Andre} Derain, but that he had then regarded them merely as 'barbaric fetishes' of no particular aesthetic interest."
It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $187,500.
Lot 172, Mambila figure, Cameroon, 17 1/2 inches high
Lot 172
is a fine Mambila figure from Cameroon from the collection of Martin
and Rebecca Lerner. It has an estimate of $30,000 to
$50,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 175, Yaka power figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 12 7/8 inches high
Lot 175, Yaka power figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 12 7/8 inches high
Another
object from the Lerner collection is Lot 175, a Yaka power figure from
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is 12 7/8 inches
high. It was once in the collection of Armand Arman and was
exhibited at the Musuem for African Art in New York in 1997. It has an
estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It
failed to sell.
Lot 117, Spirit figiure from a sacred flute. Biwat, Yuat River, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, 30 1/2 inches high
Lot 117
is a good Spirit figure from a sacred flute from Biwat, Yuat River,
East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea. It is 30 1/2 inches
high. The catalogue entry notes such figures were "stoppers" atop
long bamboo flutes that were considered the children of the mother
crocodile. The lot has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.
It failed to sell.
Lot 162, seven Bamana aardvark marionette heads, Mali, length of longest 12 3/4 inches
Lot
162 is a lovely group of seven Bamana aardvark marionette heads from
Mali. The longest is 12 3/4 inches. It has an estimate of $10,000
to $15,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 134, Teotihuacan stone standing figure, Guerrero region, Late Preclassic/Early Classic, circa AD 200-400, 13 8/8 inches high
Lot 134
is a good Teotihuacan stone standing figure from the Guerrero region,
Late Preclassic/Early Classic, circa AD 200-400. It is 13 3/8
inches high.
The catalogue entry notes that Teotihuacan "became one of the largest cities in the world by the 6th Century. It was the most important city in Mesoamerica at the time."
The lot has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $137,500.
The catalogue entry notes that Teotihuacan "became one of the largest cities in the world by the 6th Century. It was the most important city in Mesoamerica at the time."
The lot has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $137,500.
Lot 145, Maya figure of a warrior, Jana, Late Classic, circa AD 550-950, 11 34 inches high
Lot
145 is an impressive Maya figure of a warrior, Jana, Late Classic,
circa AD 550-950. It is 11 3/4 inches high. It was
exhibited at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago in
1966. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 146, Ulua marble bowl with effigy handles, Late Classic, circa AD 550-950, 12 1/2 inches long
Lot 146
is an impressive Ulua marble bowl with effigy hangles from the Late
Classic, circa AD 550-950. It is 12 1/2 inches long. It has
been exhibited at the Smith College Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine
Arts in Houston and the Princeton University Art Museum. It has
an estimate of $170,000 to $200,000. It sold for $187,500.
Lot 142, Standing priestess, Veracruz, Nopiloa, Late Classic, AD 550-950, 15 1/4 inches high
Lot 142
is a very fine standing prietess, Veracruz, Nopiloa, Late Classic AD
550-950. It is 15 1/4 inches high. It was on loan to the
Detroit Institute of Art from 1985 to 2003. Ithas an estimate of
$150,000 to $200,000. It sold
for $225,000.