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Lot 460
Ethnographica & Tribal Art: A group tribal artefacts, to include an African plank mask, Bobo Bwa, Burkina Faso, the geometric and checkered features highlighted in white and red pigments, 80cm long, together with a sculpture of a Ashanti Antelope head, 46cm long, a Yaka fetish figure, of typical form, 45cm tall, and a cow bell. (4)
Lot 93
A BUILDER'S HALF-SHIP MODEL FOR THE TURBINE STEAM MOTOR YACHT ARA DESIGNED AND BUILT BY CAMPER & NICHOLSON LTD. 1914, COMPLETED FOR THE FRENCH NAVY, 1917, AND SOLD TO W. K. VANDERBILT II, 192254in. laminated and carved hull, finished in red below the waterline with dark green topsides with plain deck mounted to display board with waterline tinting and builder's inscription lower left -- 12 x 60in. (30.5 x 152.5cm.); together with a set of nine facsimile ¼in:1ft scale plans for the Ara, stamped Camper & Nicholson 1979, and some historical data(A lot)Large numbers of sea-going steam and motor yachts were chartered or commandeered for government service during the Great War, but few enjoyed such a fascinating life as the Ara. Built for pleasure in an English boatyard, bought by the French Navy for conversion into a fully-fledged naval sloop and then, when hostilities ended, resold to the colourful scion of one of America’s wealthiest and most famous families who not only turned her back into a luxurious pleasure craft but also used her as a serious oceanic research vessel. This remarkable character was William Kissam Vanderbilt II [WKV] (1878 – 1944), an immensely rich automobile and power boat enthusiast, yachtsman and renowned collector of ethnographica and the curiosities of the natural world, and the great-grandson of the legendary American railway tycoon “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt. Known to his friends as “Willie K”, WKV enjoyed great success racing power yachts in the years preceding the Great War and, when his own wartime service finished, succumbed to the lure of the ocean by buying a 1,400 ton twin-screw ex-naval sloop named Ara in 1922. Ordered and begun in Camper & Nicholson’s Southampton yard in 1913, her completion was delayed until 1917 owing to the default of her owner. Then acquired by the French government and converted into an armed naval sloop, she sailed under French colours for the remainder of the War until decommissioned and returned to Camper & Nicolson pending sale in 1922 and where she was spotted by WKV. Given his wealth, it seems curious that he didn’t order a brand new motor yacht to his own specifications but, for reasons unknown, he bought Ara and reconverted her into a pleasure yacht for his own use. Possibly the result of his second marriage in 1927 to a woman who perhaps craved travel, the following year he and his new wife Rosamund, a few friends and a ‘crew’ of forty left Centerport, New York State, on the first of their two circumnavigations of the globe. Quite apart from the crew required to man the vessel, the yacht’s complement also included scientists and photographers to analyse and study natural phenomena found en route and to produce detailed reports for the American Museum of Natural History as well as for WKV’s own private museum. Having obtained his Master’s certificate in 1918, WKV mostly skippered Ara himself and although she carried three watch officers, more often than not it was WKV himself at the wheel. The epic voyage of 28,738 miles took six months and WKV deemed it so successful that he very soon bought a second, even larger motor yacht, the Alva, and in her completed his second circumnavigation in 1931. By then, the Ara had already been sold, but whatever life she encountered thereafter, it seems unlikely that it was as interesting as what had gone before.fine overall condition, topside paint containing fine craquelure associated with age
Lot 147
A Small Quantity of Militaria, comprising a Stuka "Jericho Trumpet", a No.36 M II Mills bomb (hand grenade), the steel plug dated (19)43, a flak shell, a British Navy 4" brass shell case dated 1967, two Ark Royal commemorative copper jug, a brass damage control unit stamped H.M.S. ARK ROYAL, a machine gun ammunition belt with empty brass cartridges, a quantity of inert .303 bullets etc. Dear Chris, The extra images you have requested are now available on our website. Just click on the lot and they will appear below or to the side.Kind regardsOonagh DrageMilitaria & Ethnographica SpecialistThe Auction CentreLeyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5SG01969 623780www.tennants.co.uk
Lot 178
A First World War Royal Flying Corps Khaki Field Service Cap, with bronze cap badge, brass hooks and eylets to secure the folding ear curtains, brass buttons, black American cloth sweatband and leather chin strap; an Early Royal Air Force Blue Wool Field Service Cap, with gilt metal King's crown and eagle badge and buttons, together with a pair of Royal Flying Corps embroidered cloth shoulder titles and two related portrait postcards (6) Dear Mr Walker, There are no markings or date on the RFC field service cap. I have put extra images on our website for you to inspect. Just click on the lot and the images will appear to the side or below. Kind regardsOonagh DrageMilitaria & Ethnographica SpecialistThe Auction CentreLeyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5SG01969 623780www.tennants.co.uk
Lot 189
Ethnographica: Extremely rare Austral Islands (French Polynesia) Chief's staff or pole club, 19th century, the pommel (hand-carved using shark teeth) with six stylised nio mango masks, each with two short 'horns' to forehead, over pierced openwork scallop and shark tooth frieze above tapering ring-turned grip, the shaft with basal collar, 182cm long overall Literature: Mack, Charles W., 'Polynesian Art at Auction 1965-1980', 1982 Hall, Henry Usher, Woodcarvings of the Austral Islands [Penn Museum Journal] Read, Sir C. H., “On the Origin and Sacred Character of Certain Ornaments of the South-Eastern Pacific” [Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 21, 1891-1892]The terminals to these staffs are carved very much in the manner of the more common paddle clubs. Similar lots sold at auction: Bonhams, New York, 13th May 2019, lot 56. Bonhams, San Francisco, 5th May 2015, lot 93.
Lot 183
Ethnographica: Sepik River (Papua New Guinea) clay and shell-mounted human 'ancestor' skull, Iatmul or Sawos, Central Sepik River, the skull covered with a thick layer of reddish-brown clay, cowrie shell eyes and band across top of head, locks of real hair behind, approximately 14cm wide, 20cm deep, 15cm highDeceased estate, Hotwells, Bristol.Comparable lots: Simpson Galleries, Houston, Texas, 8th November 2015, lot 401.Dorotheum, Vienna, 2nd November 2015, lot 213, where stated: "Amongst the Iatmul (and also the Sawos) on the central Sepik River, the skulls of important, deceased men were covered with reddish clay... and decorated with the patterns that the deceased had also worn as face-painting for ceremonies and feasts when he was alive. These re-modelled ancestor skulls were kept in houses for men and ritually venerated in their own ceremonies."Literature: Meyer, Anthony J. P., ‘Ozeanische Kunst’, ill. p. 230, 276 Phelps, Steven, ‘Art and Artefacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas. The James Hooper Collection’ , fig. 991, 992 Friede, Marcia & John, 'New Guinea Art', fig. 163, 164 Nicolas, Alain, 'Art Papou' (Catalogue) Musée d'Arts Africains, Océaniens, Amérindiens, Marseilles, fig. 276.
Lot 412
Ethnographica - Carved wooden skull hook / hanger or 'Agiba', Kerewa people, Goribari Island, Papuan Gulf, Papua New Guinea, incised hardwood and natural red pigments, 82cm highFor another agiba, see https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/311237 where stated: Headhunting was an integral element of religious practices throughout the Papuan Gulf, honouring the spirits (imunu) whose powers sustained the community. Kerewa men formerly lived in communal men-only houses divided into cubicles in which the members of eachclan or subclan slept. Each cubicle housed a clan shrine containing one or more agiba and other sacred objects.The agiba symbolized the vitality and martial prowess of the clan, presiding over the skulls obtained by its members.The skulls were hung from the agiba by loops of rattan placed over the hook-like projections at the base. At times,a platform was constructed below the image to support the weight of the assembled skulls. Only men who had capturedan enemy head were entitled to carve agiba.
Lot 144
Ethnographica - Three African items: possibly South African Zulu walking stick or 'prestige staff', with a small swollen round head covered completely with fine wire decorated with four twisted bands, 64cm long overall (bottom segment missing); an Assegai throwing spear, with 32.5cm head and leather collar to a turned shaft, 79.5cm overall; and a cow-hide shield, of typical oval form with two vertical ribs beneath slats 59cm (lacks pole mount); (3)
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688 item(s)/page