The Collector’s Eye / February Estates: Antiques, Asian & Ethnographic Arts, Oriental Rugs, Mid-Century Modern, Much More, Feb. 23, 2014-11am

Material Culture presents 600+ lots of diverse and eclectic offerings from local, regional and national estates in their auction, “The Collector’s Eye: February Estates”, on Sunday, February 23, 2014, at 11AM EST.  Antique Oriental carpets start the day and include several rare Tibetan saddle (lot 3) and temple rugs from the Bill Liske collection, as well as many Persian, Caucasian, Chinese and Turkish rugs, kilims, and nomadic trappings.  An interesting group of Central Asian Khotan pictorial carpets (lots 97-102), feature bold, geometric floral arrangements, and offer designers the opportunity to experiment with a style of carpet that is not commonly seen.  Among Persian carpets, from an estate in Bridgehampton, New York, are a late 19th C. Lavar Kerman Prayer Rug (lot 77) and a Silk Souf Keshan (lot 78), the latter with the voided and sculpted pile that typifies souf rugs.

Included in the sale are 150+ lots of rare and collectible textiles, many from the estate of Alvin Newman, including numerous multi-item groupings of ceremonial trappings and traditional folk dress from Central Asia, Sindh, Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa.  The Newman collection presents a rare opportunity for young collectors to explore a newly emerging category of collecting that is a relative bargain: 20th century folk and tribal textiles.  One of the highlights among the textile offerings in the sale is a circa 1800 Bukhara Suzani (lot 161) from a private collection on the west coast: its brilliant colors, rendered in silk floss against a white cotton ground, excellent condition, and classic design make it an outstanding addition to anyone’s collection of Central Asian and Islamic textiles.  Another highlight, a painting on cloth, is an outstanding 19th C. Tibetan Thangka (lot 159), from a private Montreal collection, of Yamantaka and consort surrounded by images of the Buddha.   Among the many Chinese items in the sale, there is a fine antique silk embroidered robe with a dramatic crashing wave hemline (lot 160) from a New England estate.

Ethnographic and tribal art offerings include several items from the American Northwest Coast, of which the highlight is a tall (86 inches) carved wood polychrome totem, from a private collection in Voorhees, New Jersey (lot 366).  Other Northwest Coast items include a Haida mask (lot 367), a Haida puppet (lot 368), and a Kwakiutl Drum Head from the 1920’s (lot 369).  A classically carved and painted Hopi Cottonwood Kachina Doll (lot 365), collected in the 1930’s by the artist Mildred Murphy Dillon (1907-1992), comes from the collection of Robert Lima.  Among many African tribal works, there is a superb Dan Mask (lot 374), formerly in the Jean Pierre Hallet collection.  Going further back in time, there are items which were deaccessioned from the Sackler collection in 2011, including a group of Persian Bronze Age Spearheads (lot 402) as well as a various Pre-Columbian ceramic items (lots 403-409).

Among the many general estate offerings, a number of Mid-Century items come from the estate of Aaron Fine, of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, including a Danish Modern Desk designed by A.W. Iversen for Vinde Mobelfabrik (lot 532), as well as a number of Eames chairs and a large Eames conference table (lots 534-538).

Auction Highlights