AMERICAN INDIAN ART SALE LEADS WITH TWO COLLECTIONS AT CHRISTIE’S NEW YORK Christie’s spring sale of American Indian Art features a rich offering of over 320 lots of jewelry, textiles, kachina dolls, pottery, and baskets as well as a fine selection of photographs. Two collec
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - June 29, 2006
American Indian Art
New York— Christie’s spring sale of American Indian Art features a rich offering of over 320 lots of jewelry, textiles, kachina dolls, pottery, and baskets as well as a fine selection of photographs. Two collections, each established in the 1930s, are included in the auction: The Hoover-Walker Collection, comprised of over 50 lots acquired by Margaret Hoover, the adopted daughter of Henry Oscar One Bull, and The Martin Collection which includes artifacts from the everyday life of the Yup’ik Eskimos when Bessie and Gus Martin resided in this Alaskan village as teachers.
Hoover-Walker Collection
Margaret Hoover contributed to the Lakota community through her social work, involvement with the American Red Cross, and through her husband’s role as a minister among the Lakota tribes in North and South Dakota. Her esteem was noted when she was bestowed with the same name as One Bull’s mother, Wiyaka Wastewin. The Hoover-Walker’s collection tells a story of cultural exchange based on respect and harmony— signified by this adoption, a practice by American Indians to indicate high regard for an individual.
Among the 50 lots, some objects are believed to be ‘give-aways,’ which were obtained at various ceremonies, and would be appropriate gifts for the adoptive daughter of the celebrated Lakota Chief. Highlights of this collection are a Sioux pictorial beaded hide baby carrier, circa 1910-1915, adorned with American flags, geometric shapes, and horses (estimate: $7,000-9,000 and illustrated left), a vibrantly colored Western Sioux quilled hide suit in excellent condition (estimate: $7,000-9,000), and a Sioux quilled hide horse headstall in red, orange, and purple porcupine quills (estimate: $6,000-8,000).
The Martin Collection
Gus and Bessie Martin settled in Alaska from 1926 – 1935 to work as teachers among the Yup’ik Eskimos, learning the language and devoting their energy towards improving transportation and communication. The majority of their collection characterizes the daily life of the Yup’ik in the 1930s, with hunting and household tools, children’s toys, and ceremonial regalia. A portion of the collection includes items made for trade, such as carved ivory napkin rings, implements, and jewelry. Objects depicting the everyday life of Yup’ik culture include 25 original photographs of the Yup’ik Eskimo (estimate: $2,000-3,000 and illustrated right), and a boxed set of 50 stereographs (estimate: $3,000-5,000). Children’s toys include six lots of carved ivory storyknives, which were used by young girls to draw in the snow and mud (each estimate: $2,000-3,000); two pairs of wooden finger masks (each estimate: $2,500-3,500); and a wood face mask (estimate: $3,000-5,000).
Various Highlights
Photography is in high demand in the American Indian Art market and a collection of 157 photographs of American Indians by William Henry Jackson is sure to excite collectors (estimate: $80,000-120,000). Compiled by Jackson during the Hayden Survey of the American West from 1870 to 1879, the photographs have identifying numbers and captions, and represent 23 American Indian tribes in both group and individual pictures. A Sioux pictographic painted muslin narrates 12 vignettes of George Standing Bear in combat with
