Upcoming Tribal Art Auctions

SOTHEBYS PARIS: Art d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Paris, December 12, 2012, Sale: PF1218, Session: 12 Dec 2012 4:00 PM
With lots originating from various collectors, the upcoming African & Oceanic Arts sale will take place in Paris on 12th December. Two emblematic Fang ancestor effigies - one formerly in the collection of René Mendès-France, the other in Paul Guillaume’s - demonstrate the fascination that sculptural traditions linked to ancestor worship have had on western people since the early 19th Century. It was in the Kasaï area (Belgian Congo) that Emile Lejeune settled down in 1905. He travelled all over Kuba, Lele and Pende, and from there he brought back a remarkable collection of ivory miniatures, a treasure that his family preserved for almost a century.
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SOTHEBYS PARIS: La Collection Barbier- Mueller: Art Précolombien. Paris March 22 - 23, 2013 Sale: PF1340 Session 1: 22 Mar 2013 2:30 PM Session 2: 23 Mar 2013 2:30 PM
Comprising around 300 works from Mexico, Central & South America, this extraordinary ensemble of Pre-Columbian art from The Barbier-Mueller Collection has been widely exhibited and published. Among its many masterpieces are a Chupicuaro Ceramic Statue (500-100 BC) and a Tarascan Ceramic Bird shaped Vase (1200-1500 AC) both formerly in the Guy Joussemet Collection, a Maya Ceramic Head (500-900 AC) formerly in the John Huston Collection, an Aztec Stone Figure of a Water Goddess (1300-1500) acquired by Josef Mueller in 1920, and a Maya Figure, Jaina, Mexico (AD 550-950).

One of the strengths of the Barbier-Mueller Collection lies in its cross-cultural approach: the choices of objects across the historical cultures represented (from 1200 BC to 1500 AC) reflect a remarkable coherence of vision on the part of the collector as well as showing the variety of media in which Pre-Columbian artists worked. The Collection comprises works in wood and stone, ceramics, textiles, ritual objects, as well as being representative of all the leading Pre-Columbian cultures. Not only are iconic pieces to be found in each area, but many possess historic provenance and are in an exceptional state of preservation.

In 1908 and 1909 Josef Mueller acquired major works by Hodler and Cézanne in Paris. While initially focusing on Western masterpieces of universal appeal, he soon became attracted by important works of Pre-Columbian art, his first purchase being an Aztec ‘water goddess’ in Paris in 1920. His son-in-law Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, a great aesthete and man of culture, brought this high standard of collecting to other fields, such as African Art, Oceanic Art and Cycladic Art. His dedicated focus has resulted in the well-deserved reputation for excellence that the collections have today. Mr. Barbier-Mueller and his wife Monique Barbier-Mueller (Josef Mueller’s daughter), who has pursued modern and contemporary art, have achieved one of the foremost collections of art in private hands, one defined by their sophisticated knowledge and refined eye.

Along with their role as custodians of this magnificent, century-old collection, they are renowned for their commitment to furthering recognition of non-Western art and culture and for the remarkable exhibitions and publications they have overseen.
saleroom notices
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CHRISTIES PARIS Dec 11,  2012 Art Africain et Océanien  SALE  3521|
 No other information available
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BONHAMS NEW YORK - African, Oceanic & Pre-Columbian Art,  Auction 20065 ,  20 Nov 2012, starting at 13:00 EST.