The next Cowan’s Native American Art Auction, happening April 16 at 10 a.m., will include artwork from around the country that will appeal to collectors in all categories. Featured among the 200-plus lots will be items from the Plains and Northwest Coast, as well as the final installment of Puebloan rattles from the Dick Jemison Collection of Alabama.
Attributed to Edith Claymore (Miniconjou, 1858-1910), Cheyenne River pictorial tobacco bag, fourth quarter of the 19th century, 34 x 6". Estimate: $40/60,000Rarity is another factor in the sale with several seldom-seen pieces hitting the block. Three standouts are an early 19th-century Tsimshian carved Soul Catcher (est. $40/60,000), a Cheyenne River pictorial tobacco bag attributed to Edith Claymore (Miniconjou, 1858-1910) and a Zuni embroidered manta.
The tobacco bag, measuring 34 by 6 inches, is beautifully beaded with red, white-heart, light and dark blue, pea green, greasy yellow and white colors. “The craftsmanship of the beadwork is exquisite and depicts a buck on one side and a grazing doe on the verso,” says Danica Farnand, director of Native American art at Cowan’s, a Hindman company. “The main panel shows warriors on horseback.” The work has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
Zuni embroidered manta, third quarter of the 19th century. Estimate: $20/30,000
Coming from an estate in Sinking Spring, Ohio, is the Zuni embroidered manta (est. $20/30,000). “If you have been following our auctions, you may remember rare material from this estate selling last fall including a remarkable Ashiwi polychrome pottery jar that sold for nearly $70,000,” Farnand shares. “This manta is an early example, circa 1870, with classically embroidered edges featuring the swallowtail butterfly and the Spanish fleur-de-lis.”
Blackfeet beaded hide dress, third-quarter 19th century, 50". Estimate: $25/35,000
Another notable item in the auction is an Eastern presentation pipe tomahawk that descended in the family of Captain Agreen Crabtree. The piece, with a presale estimate of $25,000 to $35,000, is inlaid on one side with a brass sun and crescent moon while the other side has a copper tree surmounted by the initials OC, a raincloud and six crosses with triangular elements. A Blackfeet beaded hide dress, from around the third quarter of the 19th century, will arrive at auction for the first time. The dress was collected by U.S. Special Agent Johnson Neal High and descended through his family. It looks to sell for $25,000 to $35,000.
Eastern presentation pipe tomahawk, late-18th to early-19th century, 15". Estimate: $25/35,000
“The Native American art market is as strong as ever in recent years with collectors and dealers still actively participating in auctions despite all the obstacles that have been thrown in their way this last year,” says Farnand. “Recently, we have seen an uptick in online bidding participation, what I believe may be a consequence of the pandemic.”
Continuing the trend of socially distanced sales, this auction will happen live but without in-person bidding. Instead, collectors are encouraged to place absentee and phone bids or participate online. Previews of the lots are available at the auction house in Cincinnati by appointment.
April 16, 2021, 10 a.m.
Native American Art Auction
Cowan’s, 6270 Este Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45232
(513) 781-1670, www.cowans.com
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