World Record for a Maori Hei Tiki pendant from the Rosenthal Collection
€372,750 ($502,851)
Over 99% of lots sold by value
Paris, 24 March 2010 - The Rosenthal Collection of Oceanic art met great success today at Sotheby’s, as 30 of the 36 lots found takers, totalling nearly €1.9m, well over the top estimate. These results confirm the strength of the market for Oceanic art, which continues to attract international collectors, above all European private buyers.
Marguerite de Sabran, Director of the African & Oceanic Art Department: ‘We are very pleased with these results, which pay tribute to the assured eye of M. Rosenthal. This exceptional ensemble, showcased in a pre-sale exhibition juxtaposing tribal art with masterful works of modern art, was a great success.’
The highlight of the sale was the world record price obtained for an exceptional and unusually large Maori hei tiki nephrite pendant from New Zealand, 17.5cm tall, with shell inset eyes. It sold for €372,750 (lot 11, estimate €100,000- 150,000*). The pendant once belonged to Paul Valery’s muse the Comtesse de Béhague (1869-1939), famed both for her important collection of paintings and her generosity as an arts patron.
Polynesia also impressed, with two statues from Easter Island. A very rare moai papa female figure sold in line with its €100,000-150,000 estimate for €144,750 (lot 13); while a male
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moai kavakava wooden figure from Easter Island doubled its estimate at €372,750 (lot 12). It was collected in Easter Island in 1868 by George Harvey, a sailor aboard the British frigate Topaze.
At the heart of the collection was a group of rare works from New Ireland, one of the most important ensembles to reach the market in recent years, led by an impressive malangan style figure, probably portraying a tribal chief and formerly owned by Paul Eluard and Maurice de Vlaminck, which fetched €240,750 (lot 7). That price reflected the power of the pose and visage, as well as the subject’s great rarity. Another piece in high demand was a male malangan statue from the Solvit Collection, with blue paint and a complex openwork composition, which doubled its top estimate at €156,750 (lot 8).