The May auction of African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art at Sotheby’s offers a rich selection of exceptional art from the traditional cultures of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands and Indonesia, as well as Central and South America.

The inspiration modern European artists drew from these traditional cultures in the first decades of the 20th century is particularly evident in a selection of sculpture from the collection of renowned Modern art dealer Pierre Matisse (lots 167-202). The son of the painter Henri Matisse opened his gallery in New York in 1931 and launched some of the earliest exhibitions of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas in the United States. Represented in the group are a beautiful Fang Reliquary Figure, a striking Kanak Roof Spire, and a sublime Teotihuacan Greenstone Mask.

Pre-Columbian art is well represented from various private collections including an important group of Andean textiles and ceramics from the collection of Roland Hartmann, Switzerland; fine Maya ceramics, Central American gold and an Olmec jade spoon pendant of extraordinary emerald green color from a North American private collection. A large Chinesco Seated Male Figure, Type A, is among the evocative West Mexican ceramic figures from various American collections.

You won’t want to miss this outstanding Discovery Auction

Tuesday, May 10

Featuring fantastic finds from multiple consignors

Exceptional late additions not pictured:

You need to be here to see what we have in store for you!

POTTERY & PORCELAIN: Delft, Villeroy & Boch, Winterling, Haviland, Wedgewood, transferware, Parian, Weller Louwelsa, Gaudy Welsh, Flintridge, handpainted Nippon, Royal Doulton, Austrian jardiniere, Noritake, R.S. Prussia, Lennox, Flow Blue, Herend, Antique Canister sets, Majolica, Asian Porcelain GLASS: Venetian, Hawkes, amethyst, cut glass, carnival glass, Blenko, cobalt, Waterford, parade canes STERLING: reticulated dishes, Victorian ladle, flatware, overlay FURNITURE: vintage wicker, icebox, maple hutch, vintage wire patio furniture, deco table, ice cream chairs, slant-front desk, Danish modern cabinet, primitive cradle & dollhouse, Victorian dome trunk ASIAN: Chinese porcelain, bone carving MISCELLANEOUS: bugle, disco ball, quackery machine, cameras, Milliner’s doll, cast aluminum Colt six-shooter, various quilts, punched-tin oil burner, postcards, tons and tons of art, paintings & prints, Tootsietoy cast metal cars, Deco-1950s lighting, Silvercrest

Ripley’s Antique Helper May Art and Antiques Auction

Saturday, May 14

10 AM

Preview

Friday, May 13

2-6 PM

Absentee and phone bidding available.

Live Internet bidding and audio/video provided by Artfact.

The Collection of Indian and Persian Art belonging to the late scholar, curator and connoisseur Stuart Cary Welch was one of the greatest of its kind formed in recent times. The second part of the sale of this collection, “Arts of India”, will take place at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday 31 May 2011. Comprising Rajput, later Mughal, Company School and Himalayan paintings, drawings and works of art, the sale contains many dramatic and exquisite works of great rarity, importance and quality, as well as a wide range of more affordable drawings, sketches and decorative arts from the 13th to the 20th century.

Among a host of highly important and rare items to be offered is a Mandala signed by Jasaraja Jirili and dated 1365 (lot 84). This exquisite Vasudhara Mandala was painted during the reign of the Nepalese Malla king Jayarjunadeva (r.1361-1382), and remains a document to the artistic genius that made Newar artists famed and sought-after throughout the Himalayan region, and as far afield as the Chinese imperial courts.

Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art auction was a huge success!  Don’t miss the opportunity to browse through the sale results.

View Evening Sale Results

View Day Sale Results

19th/20th C. American and European Art – Saturday, May 14, 11 a.m.

Post-War and Contemporary Art – Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.

Hong Kong – May 31st

View Event Details

This May, Sotheby’s Fine Chinese Paintings department is thrilled to offer its first ever off-season sale, The Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-Chien. This monumental collection was assembled by the late Mr. and Mrs. Kao Ling-Mei over the course of half a century, and is internationally recognized as the most comprehensive Zhang Daqian paintings collection of all times. The sale features 25 works from the collection and is estimated to bring more than HKD 130 million. It represents the very first time that any of these works have appeared on the market.

The selection for sale offers a detailed account of the stylistic evolution of the artist, from his early traditional styles to the bold splashed ink and colour of his later years. It also reveals the close friendship and camaraderie between the celebrated artist and Mr. and Mrs. Kao Ling-Mei – dear friends for over 40 years. The couple acquired many of Zhang Daqian’s most prized works from exhibitions or as gifts from the artist himself. Lotus and the Mandarin Ducks (Lot 4), was bought in an exhibition of the artist’s work; and Children Playing under a Pomegranate Tree (Lot 13) – painted especially to compliment the couple’s large family – was received as a present from the artist.

The May 2011 Latin American Sale is historic in its inclusion of the Fernando Botero: a Celebration auction as well as a single owner sale A Discerning Eye. These three catalogues form the Evening Session of the Latin American Art Sales.

There are several re-discoveries of historical note such as Emilio Boggio’s 19th century masterpiece La Lecture, lot 52, which has not been seen publicly since it was exhibited in 1888 at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris, Tilsa Tschusiya’s mysterious 1962 Untitled painting from her early period and Benito Quinquela Martin’s 1923 Buque en Descarga (en Pleno Trabajo) which, when cleaned of its old varnish, revealed a rainbow of dazzling color and expressionistic impressionist brushstrokes.

Latin American Art – Browse E-Catalogue

Fernando Botero: A Celebration – Browse E-Catalogue

A Discerning Eye: Latin American Masterpieces from a Private Collection – Browse E-Catalogue

On Thursday, May 5, Swann Galleries will conduct their annual spring auction of Modernist Posters. As always, the sale features rare avant-garde images from the U.S., Europe and Asia that appeal to fans of cutting-edge design.

There is a rare exhibition poster by Dutch architect and designer Hendrikus T. Wijdeveld for a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition held in Amsterdam, 1931.

Art Deco classics include Jean Dupas, Bal des Etudiants, 1927, in a rare large format. The image appealed to Andy Warhol, who at one time owned a version of the poster.

A 1935 poster by an unknown artist for the film [Peach Blossom Dream], starring Chinese movie star Pearl Ing.

David Shubow, Moments with Genius, circa 1936 is a classic WPA-era image.

Edward McKnight Kauffer’s Power / The Nerve Centre of London’s Underground, 1931, is among the scarce British rail posters in the sale.

View Online Catalogue