450+ auction lots
include art, textiles, antiquities, ethnographic art, carpets and jewelry
PHILADELPHIA
– An important artwork by Prince Twins Seven-Seven (Nigerian, 1944-2011) not
only co-headlines Material Culture’s 450-lot Oct. 14 auction, it also inspired
the event’s title: “The Spirits of My Reincarnation Brothers and Sisters.”
Deeply mystical and immediately identifiable, the works of
Prince Twins Seven-Seven have spurred a new level of interest in the
marketplace since Material Culture offered several exciting multimedia
paintings by the artist in their May 5 auction debut. The self-taught Prince
Twins Seven-Seven expressed his boundless imagination in themes that blended
esoteric imagery with a vibrant, traditional West African color palette. The 65
by 58-inch batik dye, watercolor, acrylic and oil-on-cloth painting featured in
Material Culture’s Oct. 14 sale was purchased directly from the artist in 2007
and is one of seven of his works entered in the sale. It is expected to realize
$5,000-$7,000.
Other self-taught artists represented in the October
offering include Vojislav Jakic, Kwame Akoto a k a Almighty God, Purvis Young
and Felipe Jesus Consalvos, a Cuban-American (1891-1960) who worked as a cigar
roller but whose natural talent as an artist was not widely known until after
his death. Consalvos created visually stunning modernist collages that
incorporate cigar bands and cigar-box paper with photographs, postage stamps
and magazine images. His mixed-media collage titled “Let Dreams Come True” was
created around the second quarter of the 20th century. It measures 10 x 8
inches (15¾ x 13¾ inches framed) and comes with provenance from the
Fleisher/Ollman Gallery. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000.
The auction will showcase a selection of items from the Bill
Liske collection of early Chinese and Tibetan textiles, carpets and
ethnographic artworks. Material Culture’s first offering of articles from the
Liske collection – auctioned on May 26 – was enthusiastically received, said
owner George Jevremovic, a cultural arts dealer of 30+ years.
“The Liske collection is special because it reflects the
impeccable eye of a collector who lived and worked as a mountaineering guide in
the Himalayan region for three decades. Textile dealers in the area taught him
how to identify pieces that were genuinely exceptional,” said Jevremovic.
Liske’s expertly chosen collection has appeared at the
History Museum in Denver, the Krimsa Gallery in San Francisco, the
Shaver-Ramsey Gallery in Denver, and in Hali
magazine.
A premier artwork in the Liske collection is a powerfully
rendered early Thangka scroll painting depicting the deific reincarnation known
as Vajra Varahi in Sanskrit and Dorje Pakmo in Tibetan. Dating to 14th-16th
century Tibet, it is valued at $3,000-$4,000.
Another auction highlight is the Michaelian Meshed (31 feet
by 47 feet), a circa-1900 Persian carpet originally custom-woven for the
prestigious Union League Club in New York City. It remained in the club for
decades until its purchase in the 1950s by Frank Michaelian of Michaelian and
Kohlberg. Suitable for a discriminating owner with a palatial space, it will be
offered for sale publicly for the first time in its history on Oct. 14, with an
auction estimate of $60,000-$90,000.
An outstanding 19th-century Syrian silk and gold judge’s
tunic from the collection of Samy and Sara Rabinovic, Philadelphia, was the
blue-ribbon exhibition winner at the 1996 International Conference on Oriental
Carpets, and is expected to fetch $3,000-$4,000. Also up for auction is a rare
pre-Columbian funerary headband made with a knotted-pile technique, valued at
$1,000-$1,500; and a 19th-century Tibtetan or Bhutanese bull-headed Buddhist
dance mask of meditational deity Yamantaka. The mask’s vivid red hue was
achieved by applying pigment to a papier-mâché of laurel or mulberry. Estimate:
$3,000-$4,000.
Other categories of artifacts include an outstanding group
of 17th-18th century Mughal columns and arches from northern India, 16th- to
19th-century Ottoman, Central Asian, Asian, African, Continental and
pre-Columbian textiles, 17th-19th century Oriental Carpets, African, Himalayan
and Oceanic Tribal Arts, antiquities from the Near East, Americas and Asia;
18th- to 20th-century folk art from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas; and
100+ lots of vintage Navajo jewelry from a private Pennsylvania collection
assembled in the 1970s.
“From the beginning it has been our goal to present pieces
of diverse origin that would present collecting opportunities for every level
of buyer, from beginners to advanced collectors and interior designers. In
addition, we take the position that it is better to have around 400 items of
very good to excellent quality – from consignors who have realistic
expectations – than to create a more-specialized sale with a few stars and lots
of filler,” said Jevremovic, explaining his company’s mission.
“This is an age in which corporate auction departments seek
to maximize their bottom lines with million-plus-dollar items or high-profile
sales that have more to do with celebrity and fashion than quality or
connoisseurship. We believe some of the best collecting opportunities –
particularly for younger buyers worldwide – exist in the areas we are
presenting in our October 14th sale: self-taught, folk, ethnographic,
decorative and traditional arts,” Jevremovic said.
Material Culture’s Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012 auction will
commence at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. Preview: Oct. 10-12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery
is located at 4700 Wissahickon Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144. All forms of
bidding will be available, including phone, absentee or Internet live bidding
through LiveAuctioneers.com. For additional information on any lot in the sale,
email expert@materialculture.com
or call 215-438-4700. Visit the company online at www.materialculture.com.
# # #
CAPTION:
Prince Twins Seven-Seven (Nigerian, 1944-2011), ‘The Spirits
of my Reincarnation Brothers and Sisters #2,’ ink, watercolor, acrylic, and oil
on cloth, stretcher; 2007, 65½ x 58 inches. Est. $5,000-$7,000. Material Culture
image.
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