Bonhams’ final auction of the year, the highly anticipated Native American Art sale, offers an impressive 380 lots across an exciting two-day format. Ingmars Lindbergs, Bonhams director of Native American art, comments that “by offering a combination of carefully curated, individual collections, with a broad selection of material from a variety of owners, this auction will offer a diverse selection of historic Native American material at a wide variety of price points.”
Diné (Navajo) classic bayeta first phase chief’s wearing blanket. Estimate: $200/300,000
For the sale’s first day, held on December 11, collectors and enthusiasts alike will find curated, single-owner collections. This includes a selection of early Southwestern pottery, assembled by noted Los Angeles artist Anthony (Tony) Berlant; historic pueblo pottery from the home of California Senator Dianne Feinstein; and a selection of fine historic Plains and Plateau tomahawks, daggers and clubs from a private Connecticut collector.
In addition, Lindbergs mentions that the late Alexander Schwed assembled an exceptional collection of primarily California baskets that will be offered as part of the single-owner sections. “There are two masterful baskets made in the late 19th/early 20th century by the Bancalache Yokuts weaver Louisa (Lasyeh) Francisco, also known as Mrs. Dick Francisco (1856-1953), including a bottleneck basket, [each estimated at $60,000 to $80,000], as well as one of her monumental gambling trays.”
Diné (Navajo) classic second phase chief’s wearing blanket. Estimate: $100/150,000
Lindbergs continues, “Both baskets were illustrated in the 2021 book California Indian Basketry: Ikons of the Florescence, with the authors stating, “Louisa Francisco is known today as one of the finest and most important weavers in the history of California basketry. She created many of the best bottleneck baskets made by the Yokuts, with coil counts reaching 12 per inch and stitch counts up to 23 per inch…She is most famous for her superb gambling or gaming trays, which rank with the greatest masterpieces of Native American basketry, some reaching diameters of 32 inches and requiring more than a year to make.”
Day two of the sale, December 12, will feature late 19th/early 20th century Hopi katsina figures from various owners. “[This includes] a depiction of Saitaka, previously in the collection of George Terasaki; early Diné (Navajo) weavings, highlighted by an exceptionally rare and hitherto unknown example of a circa 1850s bayeta first phase chief’s blanket; Pacific Northwest Coast and Eskimo material; beadwork and other objects from the Plains region; and a wide selection of Southwestern jewelry,” Lindbergs adds.
A Louisa Francisco (Mrs. Dick Francisco) Yokuts polychrome friendship bottleneck basket. Estimate: $60/80,000
A closer look at the Diné classic bayeta first phase chief’s wearing blanket, estimated between a whopping $200,000 and $300,000, reveals quite the exceptional, rare example. “With approximately 60 so-called Ute-style first phase chief’s blankets known in private and institutional collections, there are a little over a dozen bayeta first phase variants known,” Lindbergs notes. “Ute-style first phase weavings are identifiable by a distinctive indigo blue, natural brown and creamy white striped pattern, with the bayeta first phase featuring the addition of thin, red stripes to the composition.”
Yavapai pictorial olla, 29¼ x 5 in. diameter. Estimate: $50/80,000
He contineus, “The precise execution of the design and incredible fineness of the weave reflects the Diné concept of hohzho, a unique word that seems to encompass beauty, order, harmony and the idea of striving for a balanced life. The blanket stands apart from other examples of the type with a broad central band of variegated natural brown churro wool, framed by narrow stripes of deep indigo blue, cochineal red and yellowish ivory. The blanket was collected by the consignors’ grandparents sometime in the early 1900s and had been stored for the last 60 years in a chest in New England.”
Hopi katsina figure, 143/8 in. Estimate: $7/10,000
Lindbergs also adds that while the market for historic Native American art has proven to be challenging across a variety of categories in recent years, quality material that is fresh to the market, such as the artworks found in the Bonhams December sale, continues to hold great appeal to serious collectors. Join in on the excitement from December 11 to 12, held at Bonhams’ Los Angeles show room.
December 11-12
Native American Art
Bonhams
7601 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-7500, www.bonhams.com
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