Arts d'Afrique, d'Océanie et d'Amérique du Nord

This sale will open with a Maori adze from the former collection of James Hooper. Passed down from generation to generation, its nephrite blade – a particularly hard and rare Polynesian stone – makes it a sumptuous, ancient Polynesian treasure. From the South Pacific will also be presented a painted hook from Papua New Guinea, probably sculpted more than 200 years ago. Illustrating the Creation Myth, this Iatmul janus hook represents an ancestor whose body is made of several mythological creatures and comes from the collection of George and Ruth Kennedy, famous collectors of New Guinea art. The sale will also include a selection of African ivories, of which the highlights are a rare leopard bracelet to be worn on the forearm from Benin and an Oliphant from Sierra Leone dating to the Renaissance period. With its classical scenery of European hunting, this hunting horn is one of the first examples of colonial art and one of the most beautiful Sapi-Portuguese artworks still in private hands. A number of private collections will be offered including those of modern art dealer Edith Gregor Halpert; Capitain Delanneau who was posted in French Sudan circa 1882–1883; Helen Mandelbaum; and actor and film-maker Maximilian Schell, who received an Oscar for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Finally, several pieces from North America will be offered, including a rare headdress which was originally employed in ’Peace Dances’.