Millea Bros.' upcoming three-day auction from 21-23 November is chockfull of over 1,100 antiquities, fine art, furniture, ceramics and more, sourced from all around the world. Here are some of the highlights of the sale.
Dating to the 19th century is this rare carved standing figure from the Solomon Islands embellished with strung beads on a hardwood block stand. It was part of the collection of Faith and Martin Wright, who helped establish the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
Another work in the Wright Collection is this Baga A-Tshol Bird shrine headdress, from Guinea and Niger River region. Made of pierced carved wood, the headdress depicting a stylised human head with elongated birdlike beak and is presented on a on drum-form pedestal.
The Newark Museum, which is deaccessioning 50 works at the auction, has one of the oldest and most storied African arts collections in the US. These Yoruba Peoples twin ere ibeji figure are from 19th/20th century Nigeria. Each is a carved wood male figure with blue pigmented hair, metal and beaded jewellery. The Yoruba people have one of the highest rates of twins in the world, however only one baby would often survive childbirth. These figures would be commissioned by a master carver to represent the lost twin.
Among the modern and contemporary art offerings are highlights by the 20th century's most celebrated artists. The top lot in the entire auction is an ink drawing by Agnes Martin, who became the eighth most expensive female artist in the world when her work Orange Grove sold for US$10.7 million (£8.31 mil) at Christie's in 2016. Agnes Martin is often described as a minimalist American artist, but she refers to herself as an abstract expressionist. This work from 1963 embodies her characteristic style and themes of geometry, pattern and line.
Another drawing of note is by Pablo Picasso and titled Femme et Tete Antique (Woman and Ancient Head). This Picasso drawing dates to 1935, a period when Picasso explored Neoclassical themes as observed in the inclusion of the antiquarian bust. It was conceived in charcoal, ink and watercolour on paper.
One of 100 original spin artworks made for the Aids Community Research Initiative of America, Damien Hirst's Spin Painting will be up for bids. The cerulean green spiral is fanned by gold streaks and framed in glass.
Other beautiful treasures for the home are also on offer. From mid-19th century France is this pair of 'Armoire a Medailles'. The Napoleon III style gilt brass inland boulle marquetry and ebony two door cabinets are attributed to the workshop of Mathieu Befort, the cabinetmaker to Napoleon III, after the model by Andre-Charles Boulle, the famous French cabinetmaker to Louis XIV.
Dating to the last few years of Imperial Russia are these Kornilov Bros. 'Fairy Tale' plates for Tiffany from 1905. The five plates are made of gilt and polychrome enamelled porcelain and depict scenes from Russian fairy tales, after designs by Ivan Bilibin, each with a Pan-Slavic border design. Bilbin was a Russian illustrator and set designer for Ballet Russes.
See all Millea Bros lots on Barnebys
This article is sponsored by Millea Brothers Auctions
