Thursday, July 28, 2005

London Bonhams auction.July 20, 2005

Bonhams result list
On July20, 2005 at Bonhams London the auction was very expensive.

The Charles Milton fine collection of items was proposed starting at lot 191 to 227. He was a painter and textile designer. He also illustrated many of the pieces he bought.

Many of those pieces where once sold by the Arcade gallery .
The nicest pieces went for a multiple of the estimates to the Brussels dealers, like the nice Bakongo maternity 10,2 cm high that was estimated 2000 pounds and sold for 28,800 pounds (lot191).

Bakongo image

Or the fine Yaure mask 33.7cm from the cover that sold to another Brussels dealer for £16,800. Like many of these pieces they where purchased from H.F. Rieser at the end of the fifities and Exhibited "An Exhibition of Baule Sculptures Arcade Gallery, spring 1979"

Bonhams organises the only specialist Tribal sales in London, and remained on the market while Sotheby's and Christies left many years ago. Prices for African art remain strong when pieces are well selected and witha good provenance.

Last year I came back from London with 60 kg, this year I only got 4 pieces in my backpack: a nephrite Tiki, a north West coast staff, a small Ashanti coming from the Mestach collection, and a Lega Bwami figure with monkey hair. I was outbidded for most other items I liked.

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