Tribal Art News no 1: Christie’s Barbier-Mueller auction results, new Aztec codices discovery and more…
The Christie’s Barbie-Mueller: Art As Legacy auction results
For the last few weeks all the talk in the tribal art world has been about the incredible results of the Christie’s Barbier-Mueller tribal art auction.
The auction was a huge success with world records for multiple lots smashed and all lots but three sold (more on that later).
The headline lot was Lot 55, the Fang byeri Reliquary Head which sold for €14 770 000 including buyers premium, a world record for any tribal art work at auction.
There were plenty of other huge results, including Lot 7: a Baga Serpent for €2 460 000, Lot 33: a Saibai Island Mask for €5 570 000, Lot 39: the iconic Baule nda mask for €6 605 000, Lot 45: Kongo nkisi n’konde Statue for €9 020 000 and Lot 76: a Mahongwé-Ngaré mask for €4 170 000.
The sale totalled €73 088 820, which surely consists of a decent percentage of the turnover of the entire tribal art world, and reflects the growing dominance of Christie’s at the very top end of the tribal art market.
Personal Reflections on the auction results
Christie’s did an incredible job with marketing the sale. Social Media was full of people showing off their catalogues and photos of the auction preview, and the hype was off the charts
The auctioneers were both excellent, in more than a few cases coaxing another million out of a lot when bidding seemed to have stalled. They gave time for bidders to make up their minds, something a lot of other auction houses could learn from.
The essays accompanying the pieces were great. I really enjoyed this essay by Yaëlle Biro on the Mahongwé-Ngaré Mask.
The French government pre-empted the purchase of 6 of the lots, and acquired them for the Musée du quai Branly.
Even though the auction had many top quality iconic pieces and the majority of the lots fetched astonishing prices, I personally felt that there was a decent amount of boring and lesser quality pieces sprinkled in there too that would have attracted little attention at any other auction and without the Barbier-Mueller provenance. I probably should not mention this but that double Baule mask left me cold, but what do I know? I can understand why it fetched six million euros.
These results confirm the fact that excellent, verifiable provenance commands a very significant premium, and that premium continues to rise.
One lot was withdrawn (the Rurutu Fly whisk handle), and two lots went unsold – Lot 65 – the absolutely incredible ‘Red’ Dogon statue (bidding opened at €900 000), and Lot 59, the famous Dan Mask, ex Guillaume and Entwistle, estimated at €300 000 – €500 000.
This was the most surprising feature of the auction, these two lots were up there amongst the best lots of the auction, the Dogon statue in particular, and I cannot fathom why they were passed, especially when artistically far inferior works were selling for similar sums. I am sure most of these bidders have great art advisors, and maybe there is something I am missing, but maybe it also indicates a lack of connoisseurship amongst these super rich buyers? Food for thought.
Michael Hamson also did a really great personal review of the auction on his website, covering the Oceanic side of things. He was at the auction in person and was underbidder on the Astrolabe Bay mask (sold for €604 000) that he had originally sold to John Paul Barbier-Mueller in 2016!
New Aztec Codices Discovered: The Codices of San Andrés Tetepilco
In a major discovery, three new aztec codices have been discovered. The newly codices were acquired Mexican government from a local family who were not collectors but rather traditional stewards of the cultural legacy of Culhuacan and Iztapalapa.
Interestingly, it has emerged that one of the codices is a palimpsest, with older Aztec text visible under multispectral imaging (article is in Spanish). This raises the possibility that four codices have actually been discovered.
Link to English Article and Video
Upcoming Tribal Art Auctions
13 April 2024: Zemanek Münster – 102nd Auction
Zemanek-Münster’s 102nd African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art auction takes place on the 13th April 2024, featuring 397 lots including works ex Linden Museum and Ludwig Bretschneider, and Pre-Columbian works from Klaus Kalz. Zemanek auctions always have reasonable estimates and provide a good opportunity for beginner and experienced collectors alike to acquire genuine objects.
Ingo Barlovic has done his usual excellent video preview of the auction which can be viewed on YouTube here.
My favourite lots include Lot 21, a beautiful Malagan Figure, ex Bretschneider (est €25000-€50000), and of course Lot 23, a New Ireland lunet friction drum, also ex Bretschneider (est €10000-€15000) which is a fraction of what the Barbier-Mueller one sold for recently. I don’t know much about Pre-Columbian works but I am informed that Lot 83, the double-spouted Nazca vessel (est €2000-€4000), is superb.
On the African side I really like Lot 133, the charming and compact Bamana chiwara (est €1000-€2000), and a personal weakness of mine is Lot 227, the Azande iwa friction oracle (est €2000-€4000). The iwa is ex Alex Arthur and Kellim Brown.
Notable Auction Results
A Tsonga Bowl by the Tsonga-Ronga carver Muhlati sold for £18,900 including buyers premium (estimate £2000-£3000) at Lyon and Turnbull on the 21st March 2024.
The result is notable for two reasons, firstly it is a record for any work by Muhlati and secondly this was a work made for the West and not for tribal use.
Transitional art, especially by known artists, is a category with increased interest and appreciation and it is good to see a significant result like this.
Useful Resources
Pitt Rivers Museum collections online
I’ve been spending the last few weeks browsing the newly updated Pitt Rivers online collections. The Pitt Rivers is my favourite ethnographic museum in the world, and it’s fantastic to see these objects online in a much more accessible interface than the previous version.
My favourite discovery so far out of the 500000+ records so far is this crazy pre 1888 Zulu headrest. Surely made for sale, marvellous anyway.
Pitt Rivers Collection Online Search Link
Bonus Video: Bernard De Grunne – Ancient statues from the Soninke people, Mali
A video preview of the simply staggering collection of ancient Soninke statues presented by Bernard De Grunne at the recent TEFAF 2024 show.
Feedback
Any comments, auction results, articles or news to share? Please email me at hello@tribalartnews.com. I’d love to hear from you.
Have a great week!
Jaxon Rice
Johannesburg, South Africa.
