Bonhams’ December Native American Art sale will bring to the auction block a diversity of Native American art and artifacts. According to Ingmārs Lindbergs, director of Native American art at Bonhams, collectors can expect a large collection of katsina dolls, some very fine early Navajo textiles, great examples of Plains pictorial material and much more. Navajo classic second phase chief’s blanket Estimate: $30/50,000

Navajo wearing blanket Estimate: $15/20,000

One of the most noteworthy aspects of the sale, Lindbergs explains, is a collection of primarily Navajo and Zuni jewelry from the late collector Barbara Rogers Simpson, a collection amassed essentially over Simpson’s entire life. “It’s been years since a collection of this caliber has come up,” says Lindbergs. A Zuni inlaid Shalako plaque, attributed to Leo Poblano (1905-1959) will be offered in the sale. The plaque, depicting a Zuni Shalako dancer, can be worn as a pin or pendant, and is estimated to sell between $3,000 and $5,000.Attributed to Leo Poblano (Zuni, 1905-1959), Zuni inlaid Shalako plaque, inlaid with various stones on a silver backing with easel back; can also be worn as a pin or pendant, 57/8 x 2¼" Estimate: $3/5,000

Also included in the sale is a Navajo classic second phase chief’s blanket (est. $30/50,000), which comes out of a private collection in the Midwest. “It’s just a very handsome example of its type...It’s one of two second phase chief blankets we have in this collection,” says Lindbergs. “It has all natural, original dyes, which dates it right to the middle of the classic period. It has a great bold design...and it’s a very good representation of weavings that were made for use and traded in that period...They were actual items traded amongst the Navajo and other tribes.”Pomo chuset weave burden basket, decorated with spiraling serrated bands issuing downwards from slightly flaring rim, 20½ x 25½" Estimate: $5/7,000

Plains painted muslin, 70½ x 35" Estimate: $20/40,000

A Navajo wearing blanket with bold red dyes, estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 will also be up for auction. Lindbergs comments, “Visually, it’s a very dynamic example with the zigzags and the Spider Woman crosses in the four corners...It’s a somewhat later but still good historic example of traditional wearing blankets.” He estimates the blanket dates to around the 1870s to 1880s.

The upcoming sale of Native American art takes place at Bonhams’ Los Angeles location on December 16. —

December 16, 2019, 11 a.m.
Native American Art
Bonhams
7601 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-7500, www.bonhams.com

Powered by Froala Editor