New York, 6 April 2012
Sotheby’s auction house is holding its annual sale of African, Oceanic, and Pre-colombian art on 11 May 2012 in New York.
The auction is to include important works from distinguished personal collections. These works have not appeared at public auction in years and include masterpieces from the Werner Muensterberger collection such as a Luluwa mask from the Democratic Republic of Congo ($1.5 to $2.5 million) as well as a Sapi stone head from Sierra Leone ($250,ooo to $350,000).
Pieces from other prestigious collections include a Kota statuette from Gabon ($1 to $1.5 million) having belonged to French artist Armand, a Bamana zigzag figure from Mali ($1 to $1.5 million) formerly owned by William Rubin (director of MoMA), a Bamana female figure by a Segou master from Mali ($150 to $250,000) which was once part of Henri Matisse’s collection.
As for the Pre-Colombia art, the majority of the auction’s best pieces come from personal collections owned by the Stokes family. These include a monumental Chinesco sculpture from Nayarit ($150,000 to $200,000) miniature, multicoloured Mayan boat ($75,000 to $100,000).