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Aboriginal | Oceanic Art — Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers

Auction House:Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & ValuersNumber of lots recorded:272
Sale Title:Aboriginal | Oceanic ArtLots with images:264
Auction Location:SydneyPrices available:205
Date:24-Nov-2019
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An Aboriginal painted shield, Western Desert, Australia, c.1960s, with vibrant design, height 49 cm
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Five incised Aboriginal message boards, Central Australia (5). Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 14-93 cm
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Two Aboriginal boomerangs, one Queensland, 19th century (2), the19th century boomerang with four holes drilled through for mounting, a fishing boomerang with incised designs to one side, the digging stick, crack to head of club as per image, stands not included, height 49-97 cm
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A Milkwood ancestral carving in the form of a stylized fish, East Arnhem land, Australia, height 85 cm
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Two Aboriginal Clapsticks and an old seed necklace, length 18-22 cm
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A Western Australian hardwood Aboriginal shield with incised Design, interlocking fine incised design to verso and fine parrallel fluted design to face, length 61 cm
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An Aboriginal fighting shield, length 60 cm
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Two Sago palm bark panels, Sepik River Region, Papua New Guinea, painted with natural ochres, used to line the internal ceiling of the men's house, height 42-40 cm
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Four Central Australian mulga boomerangs, length 47 cm - 38 cm
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Three mulga wood boomerangs, Central Australia, length 83-66 cm
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Four Aboriginal painted and incised artefacts, Australia, length 67-41 cm
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Six small Aboriginal coolamons with incised designs, Central Australia, length 22-20 cm
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A large Aboriginal Coolamon with incised design, Central Australia, 50 x 45 cm
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A large Aboriginal Coolamon with incised design, a digging stick with incised design, a snake carving and a shell necklace, length 78-50 cm
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Seven Aboriginal Clap sticks, Central Australia, length 35-19 cm
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Two Aboriginal Clap sticks and two short Clubs, three with burnt poker work design, length 50-39 cm
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Two Aboriginal spear heads, an Aboriginal digging tool and a woven cane fighting pick from Papua New Guinea, length 77-63 cm
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An unusual Aboriginal Beak-Form mulga wood club, lake Eyre/Coopers creek Region, South Australia, length 70 cm
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A hardwood Aboriginal club, south Eastern Australia, dark honey coloured patina. Provenance: Ex-Williams collection, 2006, length 58 cm
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A hardwood Aboriginal club, Queensland, Australia, dark patina overall, grooved incision along the length of the club, with stand. Provenance: Ex: Williams collection, 2006, length 65 cm
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An Aboriginal morning star ceremonial pole, Elcho Island, Northern Territory. Provenance: Collected by the vendor from Galiwin'ku, Elcho Island, 1998, height 187 cm
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An Aboriginal morning star ceremonial pole, Elcho Island, Northern Territory. Provenance: Collected by the vendor from Galiwin'ku, Elcho Island, 1998, height 206 cm
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An Aboriginal shield, pokerwork design to face, height 65 cm
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A ceremonial saw fish Rostrum, Northern Territory, Australia, decorated with ochre. Provenance: Collected on Elcho Island, Arnhem land in 1970s, length 54 cm
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Walsh, Grahame L. Australia's Greatest rock art. Bathurst, 1988, E.J.Brill - Robert brown and Associates (Aust) Pty.Ltd. Special edition ed. 8/100, signed by author, oblong 4to, mint condition in slip-case
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A drinking vessel in shape of an owl, Chimu culture, Peru, burnished, knife pared earthen ware, height 23.5 cm
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A metal Bladed rice cutter, with Bulul figure on handle, Igorot, Philipppines. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 23 cm
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A Batak Parang, Solaic village, Sumatra, Indonesia, bone handle with Singa to eat a man, exquisite ornamented bone scabbard, old blade of local manufacture, complete but rusty, beautiful old glossy patina. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, collected, Indonesia, 1980, length 52 cm
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A Batak Parang, Ambaritja village, Toba, Indonesia, bone and wood, a complex figurative hilt and patterned scabbard, old blade, complete. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, collected Indonesia, 1980, length 55 cm
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A hardwood Batak Pagar figure, Indonesia, horsehair plumes, silvery eyes and necklace, hands clasped across lower abdomen in archaic form, waist and upper limbs covered with old cloth. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, collected Indonesia, 1982, height 86 cm
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A Toba ceremonial Wand, Indonesia, elongated single figure, long headdress of hair, shaft partially wrapped with ijuk fibre. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 42 cm
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A wooden Guri-Guri stopper in the form of a mother and child on a blue pot, Indonesia. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 10 cm
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A Batak hardwood figure, Indonesia, in squatting form, clasping knees, on large curved hook, used to squeeze limes during male rites of passage ceremonies. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 16 cm
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A wooden Karo Batak shot holder, Saribu village, Indonesia, horn shaped with a large face on a convex surface adjoining extensive incised design. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 21 cm
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A Batak Magic staff with carved figures and horse hair head piece, Indonesia, patinated hardwood, male turbanned figure with headdress surmounting a series of seven animal figures and a female figure below. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, collected Sumatra, 1981, height 142 cm
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A Batak ceremonial ladle, Faro village, Sigurung District, Karobatak, Indonesia, double figures and faces on handle. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 42 cm
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A Batak lamp holder, Sidikalang village, Indonesia, a complex mounted wood figure which forms the base of the lamp holder. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 32 cm
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A Batak spoon, figure form handle, Indonesia, figurine with horsehair headdress. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 22 cm
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A Nias Banjial figure, Bawa Island, Indonesia, knees slightly bent with palm frond headdress, elongated earrings, male genitalia, sockets in shoulders where arms were formerly attached. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 41 cm
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A Southern Nias Bao Mattalui ancestral figure, Indonesia, thickset male warrior with earring, necklace and betel nut pounders, he is wearing a helmet with crest. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, 43 x 14 x 15 cm
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A Toraja medicine horn with wooden stopper, Sulawesi, Indonesia, 20th century, stopper is finely carved in the form of a human head, trunk of horn has extensive Toraja designs including a 12 cm male figure with headdress in relief. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 50 cm
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A wooden Tanimbar amulet, Moluccas, Indonesia, holding bowl to chest. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 7 cm
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A Sumba wooden spinning stick, Indonesia. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 31 cm
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A betel crusher in the form of a human head, Sumba, Indonesia. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 12.5 cm
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An East Sumba Mamuli, Indonesia. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, collected Bali, 1972, 13 x 13 cm
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A ceremonial turtle shell comb, Sumba, Indonesia, a skull tree for display of enemy heads is central to the design and surrounded by cocks and horses, one prong damaged. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, 16.5 x 14 cm
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An Atoni horn spoon with figure on handle, Oinlassi, Central West Timor, Indonesia, according to collection notes 70 years old. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 14 cm
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A horn spoon, Beskama, Belu, West Timor, Indonesia, according to notes 70 years old. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 19 cm
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Two Atoni wooden spoons, Timor, Indonesia, figurative handles, custom mount. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, Bill Evans, Sydney, 1982, length 18-19 cm
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A wooden spoon with male figure, Belu, West Timor, Indonesia, compex headdress on figure topped with hornbill motif, acording to collection notes 80 years old. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 24 cm
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A wooden spoon, Timor, Indonesia. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 27 cm
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An Atoni wooden spoon with ornately carved handle, West Timor, Indonesia, old patina. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, Van Witteloostuijn, Delft, 1999, length 20 cm
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A wooden spoon, West Timor, Indonesia, head surmounting a flattened handle with geometric pattterns. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, Nomad gallery, Sydney, 2007, length 20 cm
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A Baebek Brow ornament, Belu Timor, Indonesia, light silvered metal. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, 28.5 x 17 cm
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A Dyak pig trap marker, Borneo, Indonesia. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, acquired Kuching, 1982, height 53 cm
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A Dyak Tuntun pig trap marker, Borneo, Indonesia, figure in knee elbow position. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, height 51 cm
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A Sarawak bone Awl for weaving Iban Sulut, Borneo, Indonesia, patterned both sides. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 13 cm
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A Dyak Rhinosceros Hornbill earring in the form of a bird, Borneo, Indonesia, worn by qualified head hunters. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, purchased Kuching, 1982, 12 x 6 cm
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A profusely incised lute, Sumatra, Indonesia, good condition, signs of wear with minor chips and splits from age and use. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher Collection, 71 x 10 x 10 cm
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An Aboriginal message board with incised design, Central Australia, decorated with ochre. Provenance: The Hugh Gallagher collection, length 86 cm
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A shrine post, Flores Island, Indonesia, 18th-19th century, the post has deeply carved spirit figures either side, with typical Flores scrolled design covering the post, only on the exposed side, weathering has softened the design, missing the extended forks usually attached to the top of each upper section. Provenance: acquired from Deang Askander in 1970s, the important Bali dealer who put together the Barbier-Mueller collection of Indonesian Art which is now in the Musee du Quai Branly, 178 x 50 x 22 cm
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A Granary door, Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia 19th-Early 20th century, an elegant buffalo head and horns dominates the door, a crack on the left has village repair work with strong canework, 72 x 52 x 5 cm
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Two cylindrical Asian metalwork containers and a wooden scabbard with knife and two Chopsticks (2), stand not included, height 25-37 cm
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Two ceremonial masks, Dayak, Kalimantan, Indonesia (2), height 31-24 cm
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Three metal ornaments, India, length 85 cm, 18 cm, 16 cm
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A large ceremonial mask, Tibet, beard made with yak hair, 40 x 28 cm
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An early Yene ancestral figure, Leti Islands, Indonesia, exhibiting old reddish patina, height 30 cm
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A standing male nude figure, Indonesia, mid 20th century, Condition, Some cracks and unable to stand without support, height 122 cm
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A fertility totem, Lombok, length 25 cm
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A copper Printing block with a bird and Foliage and a betel nut pestle with bird horn handle, Indonesia, height 23-16 cm
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An intricate bas relief carving, Bali, Indonesia, length 52 cm
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A tapa cloth mounted in wooden frame, Tonga or Samoa, 86 x 60 cm
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A rare hollow Abelam figure, Prince Alexander Mountains, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea, used ritually as a reverbarator for the sacred flutes, Central Nngwalndu figure. Provenance: Collected by Dr Fred Gerrits in late 1960s-early 1970s, height 113 cm, diameter 31 cm
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A 19th century whale tooth wealth pectoral (tabua), Fiji, scrimshaw, probably carved into the tooth by a whaler, it retains the early sennit crocheted necklace, 17 x 46 cm
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A large spirit mask, Boiken people, Sassoya area, Prince Alexander Mountains, Papua New Guinea, these woven masks are much larger than the neighbouring Abelam Baba masks, for similar see: Hamson, Michael. The Art of the Boiken, 2011 pp 123, 69 x 39 x 36 cm
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A pre-historic stone bowl and 'egg', Mendi Valley, Papua New Guinea, these are from a previous culture, when found in garden excavations they become objects of magic. This bowl is considered 'Female' and central to female fertility ceremonies in pre-contact New Guinea, height 7 cm, diameter 18 cm
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A Mast figure, Murik lakes, lower Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, the figure is well carved and the base has beautiful curvilinear engravings, used as a pulley to hoist sails on ocean-going canoes. Provenance: Collected 1980s in Sepik Region, 46 x 52 x 30 cm
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A bride price and Turbo shell (talipun), Prince Alexander Mountains, Papua New Guinea, The green turbo shell was considered very valuable, decorated with a woven anthropomorphic mask, 35 x 28 cm
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A headdress or back ornament, Kamano people, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea, made of tapa cloth bound on a bamboo frame, painted with zoomorphic figure, a clan totem: Carried in the Krina ritual dances, often with a tapa cape, 145 x 62 cm irregular
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A bailer shell pectoral, Mendi Valley, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea, these large shells were traded up the coast in pre-contact times, they are worn mainly by men, but occasionally by important women and they become very valuable forming part of the brideprice transaction, 21 x 30 cm
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An ancestral mask, Sepik River Region, Papua New Guinea, height 92 cm
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Three bone daggers including a Huli bone dagger, Papua New Guinea, used in fighting &and as a utensil, a lower Sepik bone dagger for fighting &ceremony, and an Abelam bone dagger with two central holes to attach feathers for ceremony, length 20 cm, 26 cm, 34 cm
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An old fighting shield, Pora Pora river, lower Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, large central face, flying foxes top and bottom, curvilinear motifs over entire front, handles on back with cane strapping missing, 159 x 32 x 18 cm
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Two elaborately carved coconut vessels, Abelam Region, Papua New Guinea, A round lime container with a plastic stopper and a coconut spoon, 12 x 7 cm, 8 x 6 cm
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A woven Helmut dance mask, Abelam people, Sepik, Papua New Guinea, orange body with wonderful blue face and cassowary feather headdress, 55 x 30 x 33 cm, 55x 30 x 33
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A painted tapa cloth cape, Kamano people, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Depicts a giant creation snake, it is used as a dance cape in the ritual 'krina' ceremony, 25 x 127 cm
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A woven Helmut dance mask, Abelam people, Sepik, Papua New Guinea, serrated triangular motifs around the orange face and cassowary feather headdress, 49 x 25 x 26 cm
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Three bone daggers, Papua New Guinea, one a utensil, handle bound with cane, Mendi Valley, one a lime spatula with a cockatoo head, Abelam and an old magic bone, engraved and bird heads at both ends, length 16 cm, 34 cm, 33 cm
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A dance mask, Watam Lagoon, lower Sepik, Papua New Guinea, brilliant red, conus shell eyes, old back, showing use, 74 x 31 cm
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A dog tooth pectoral, Sassoya, Prince Alexander mountains, Papua New Guinea, dog teeth are considered money, they are woven into elaborate pectorals, headdresses etc. For ceremony and also for brideprice transactions, 20 x 31 cm
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A dance mask, Murik lakes, lower Sepik, Papua New Guinea, split red and black face, paint layers, old back, showing use, 44 x 21 cm
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An old basket hook, early or mid 20th century, Sepik River Region, Papua New Guinea, Carved both sides with typical Sepik curvilinear designs and a strong human face. These hooks are used inside houses for suspending food and valuables away from rats and insects. On a custom made stand, 28 x 81 cm
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A ceremonial Massim finely engraved greenstone axe, Louisiade Archipelego, Papua New Guinea, one side only. Provenance: Ex-David Baker collection, Sydney, 74 x 44 cm
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A yam mask, 'Babamini' Abelam people, Sepik, Papua New Guinea, tightly woven, well coloured, 32 x 29 cm
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A clamshell, Barava, the Solomon Islands, 20th century, the Barava was broken across its centre and professionally repaired, 38 x 17 cm
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A large cult hook, Yipwon, Karawari river, interior middle Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, 127 x 30 cm
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An old dance mask, coastal Sepik Region, Papua New Guinea, early to mid 20th century, 38 x 21 cm
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A giant shell ring, Yua, Yangoru, Prince Alexander Mts, Papua New Guinea, diameter 22 cm
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A giant shell ring, Yua, Yangoru, Prince Alexander Mts, Papua New Guinea, diameter 23 cm
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Three woven yam mask, old and well painted, Abelam people, Sepik Region, Papua New Guinea (3), height 22-17 cm
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