44 will be offered, both for its elegant form and because it was one of the first acquisitions Nelson Rockefeller made for the Museum of Primitive Art in New York. CHRISTIE’S Paris—On December 10, Christie’s Paris will hold a sale that will doubtless attract the attention of tribal art aficionados around the world, thanks in part to the fact that so many of the 114 lots that will be sold are hitherto unknown and fresh to the market. A highlight of the many important and even historic pieces featured in the sale is a large Dogon figure from Mali with a fifteenth-century carbon-14 date. Two Punu masks, one white and the other black, will also be offered and will be the subject of a lecture by Louis Perrois on Monday, December 9, at 6 p.m. at Christie’s Paris location. Other fine African artworks come from various parts of the Congo and derive from little-known Belgian collections. Wonderful Oceanic objects will also be offered, including a rare and important Fijian temple sculpture collected by the Reverend Thomas Baker in 1863. Baker is remembered as being among the last missionaries to fall victim to cannibalism in the area, and he mentions the sculpture in his journals. Another missionary, the Reverend John Thomas, is the source for an interesting group of six clubs and a headrest, which, although formally reminiscent of Fijian works, he collected in Tonga between 1826 and 1859. This sale also includes some fine Native American artworks, including a Northwest Coast chilkat blanket attributed to the Kwakiutl weaver Mary Ebbetts Hunt (Anisalaga) and photographed in situ by Edward Curtis in 1914. Above left: Reliquary guardian figure. Kota- Shamaye or Shaké, Gabon. Ex Paul Guillaume, Paris. Est. 150,000–200,000 euros. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, on December 11, 2013. Above: Female figure. Bamana, Mali. Ex Frederick H. Lem, France, collected c. 1934–1935 among the Ganadougou (Sikassou region, Mali); Helena Rubinstein, Paris/New York. Est 60,000–80,000 euros. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, on December 11, 2013. Left: Figure with raised arms. Dogon, Mali. Ex Germaine de Brabant (Galerie du Roi), Brussels. Est. 300,000–500,000 euros. To be offered at Christie’s, Paris, on December 10, 2013. Right: Temple sculpture. Fiji. Collected August 7, 1863, by the Reverend Thomas Baker (1832–1867). Est. 200,000–300,000 euros. To be offered at Christie’s, Paris, on December 10, 2013.
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