Five Navajo weavings were among the top 10 lots during Heritage Auctions’ Ethnographic Art American Indian, Pre-Columbian and Tribal Art Signature Auction on November 9, 2023, a testament to the steady demand for classic and late-classic Navajo textiles.
The offerings included chief’s blankets, serapes and women’s wearing blankets, with the top lot going to a Navajo serape from around 1865 with a diamond pattern and stripes in warm hues of rose and beige. It fetched $35,000.
A classic Navajo serape, ca. 1865, native handspun wool, indigo, vegetal and cochineal dyes, 64 x 49” Estimate: $40/60,000 SOLD: $35,000
“I’ve found that my clients will pay a premium for rare, beautiful, intact items,” says Delia Sullivan, Heritage’s director of ethnographic art, of her overall impression of the 400-plus-lot sale.
Another sale highlight was a Kiowa/Comanche bowcase and quiver, strike-a-light and awl Case from around 1865, which sold well above its pre-sale estimate when it achieved $16,250.
Classic Navajo man’s wearing blanket, third phase chief’s pattern, ca. 1860-1865. Native handspun wool, indigo, lac and cochineal, 54 x 71½” Estimate: $30/50,000 SOLD: $25,000The lot also included a copy of a page from a family ledger, which states: “Story of the Bow and Arrows: Comanche Chief’s outfit taken in a fight between Indians and Texas Rangers between Weatherford and Jacksboro (Texas), Dec. 1869.”
It was purchased a few days after the aforementioned fight by the current owner’s great, great grandfather, Dr. Carroll Marion Peak (1828-1885), who moved from Kentucky to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1854. “The provenance was quite special, and I am quite sure this drove up the price realized,” says Sullivan.
Classic Navajo woman’s wearing blanket, second phase chief’s pattern, ca. 1860, native handspun wool, raveled bayeta and indigo, 59½ x 44½” Estimate: $20/30,000. SOLD: $22,500Perhaps the most significant lot in the sale was a tomahawk dating back to approximately 1800 that belonged to Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, which went to the highest bidder for $21,250.
Born in the early 1740s in what is now Ohio, Brant, also known as Thanyendanega, was a Mohawk leader and warrior who played a pivotal role in shaping the course of history and was a complex and influential figure on the American frontier.
Tomahawk once belonging to Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, ca. 1800, Ash wood, iron, silver and gold, 21½”, engraved on blade: ‘Chief Joseph Brandt’. Estimate: $25/35,000 SOLD: $21,250“Its owner fought on the side of the British during the American Revolution,” explains Sullivan. “As well, it is adorned with silver and gold, which is quite unusual, and beautifully engraved with Chief Joseph Brant’s name.”
Also represented in the top 10 lots was a Yokuts polychrome coiled basket, from around 1905, by Louisa Francisco (Mrs. Dick Francisco) which sold for $15,000.
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