Skinner, Inc. to Host Auction of American Indian & Ethnographic Art The May 12, 2012 Skinner American Indian & Ethnographic Art Auction in Boston features Plains Indian art alongside Eskimo art from "The Bear Totem Store" of Wrangell Alaska.
News-Antique.com - Apr 25,2012 - BOSTON, Mass. – April 25, 2012 – Skinner, Inc. will host an auction of American Indian & Ethnographic Art on May 12th in its Boston gallery. The truly eclectic sale features a large variety of affordable items alongside rare works of art.
Northwest Coast & Eskimo Art
A vast collection of affordable Eskimo and Northwest Coast material from “The Bear Totem Store” of Wrangell, Alaska will be on offer including a fine carved and painted wooden model totem pole depicting various bird and animal figures (lot 280, estimated between $3,000 and $4,000). Also highlighted is an Eskimo model kayak with thirteen spears (lot 247, $1,000 to $1,500). Two spears feature ivory points in the form of seals, and the addition of small ivory animal attachments make the set a very interesting lot. The “The Bear Totem Store” collection also includes an excellent selection of Tlingit and Aleut baskets.
From a private Midwest collection comes a fine Northwest Coast Tlingit raven rattle with a prostrate human and kingfisher on the top and a composite face on the bottom (lot 287, $8,000 to $12,000). From the same collection is a carved and painted seated Shaman figure (lot 286, $8,000 to $12,000), and a fine Eskimo carved wood retrieval hook with a handle terminating in a carved human head shape (lot 249, $1,000 to $1,500).
Plains Indian Art
Rare Plains items include a pictographic muslin of “The Custer Fight” by Sitting Bull’s nephew Chief Henry One Bull (lot 143, $30,000 to $40,000). This drawing depicts a complete overview of the battle including One Bull attacking Reno's Troops carrying Sitting Bull's green shield and skull cracker. The work is drawn and colored with various pigments.
A rare Dakota Sioux carved wood board which appears to have been used for tobacco cutting will also be offered (lot 156, $8,000 to $12,000). In addition there is a crow beaded buffalo hide rifle scabbard with fringe and beaded panels (lot 178, $15,000 to $20,000), and a rare Plains mountain lion skin bowcase and quiver set (lot 179, $25,000 to $35,000).
The sale also features some early knife sheaths including a crow beaded hide knife sheath (lot 174, $10,000 to $15,000), and a rare Plains pony beaded knife sheath (lot 175, $15,000 to $20,000). Several fine tomahawks are on offer. Of particular note is an Eastern Plains gunstock club from the Masco collection (lot 161, $25,000 to $35,000).
Pottery, Baskets & Weavings
A select group of pottery features two fine Nampeyo jars including an early 20th century Hopi polychrome jar decorated with a single band of stylized feather devices (lot 441, $10,000 to $15,000), and another Hopi polychrome jar decorated with a continuous band of abstract feather designs at the shoulder (lot 435, $10,000 to $15,000). This particular jar was given to Rudolph H. Beeder (1905-1979), the chief engineer of the Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co., by a friend in the 1950s. Upon his death, the jar descended to his son, John Beeder. The lot includes
