Mexico's Government Negotiates the Temporary Return of Moctezuma's Headdress
This is an unprecedented collaboration project between museums headed towards a better understanding of the headdress, which efforts have been intensified during the administration of President Felipe Calderon. Photo: Courtesy Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
MEXICO CITY.- Negotiations conducted for 3 years by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) before the Austrian Government, are about to reach a historical agreement that would bring Moctezuma´s Headdress to Mexican territory.
Friendly relations sustained between the Mexican and Austrian Governments would achieve a good-will exchange that would crystallize the dream of millions of Mexicans of admiring the feather headdress attributed to the last Mexica tlatoani (ruler).
This is an unprecedented collaboration project between museums headed towards a better understanding of the headdress, which efforts have been intensified during the administration of President Felipe Calderon.
In February 2010 was constituted a bi-national commission in charge of conducting scientific analysis of the piece to determine its physical state and identify the necessary restoration processes that would allow its eventual transport and exhibition in our country. When the project ends, a unique publication will be produced to show the artistic, cultural and historical value of the feather headgear.
Mexico and Austria acknowledge the Prehispanic piece as common cultural heritage, and, it that spirit, assume the responsibility.
SRE and INAH conduct conversations with authorities of the Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture and Education, the Museum of Ethnology and the Museum of Arts History (Kunsthistorisches Museum) in Vienna, to which the Ethnology Museum belongs, to examine the legal and technical terms in which the headdress can be transported to Mexico on loan. In reciprocity, Mexican authorities will study the possibility of a piece with significance for Austria, safeguarded in a Mexican museum, being sent to that country, also on loan.
SRE and INAH will keep the public informed regarding the development of this important project that has the objective of achieving that Mexicans can admire the Moctezuma’s Headdress, piece of great importance due to its symbolic and historical value, attending a long-time concern thanks to cooperation between both countries.
"Teotihuacan: Mexico's Mysterious Pyramid City" @ Martin Gropius Bau
Sculpture of the Lord of the Underworld © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
BERLIN.- The Martin-Gropius-Bau presents the exhibition Teotihuacan – Mexico’s Mysterious Pyramid City. More than 450 outstanding objects giving a comprehensive insight into the art, everyday life and religion of this enigmatic culture will be on view in Europe for the first time. They include specimens of monumental architecture, filigree vessels and figures, costly stone carvings, masks, statues of gods and representations of animals as well as examples of highly symbolic murals which have retained their brilliant colours since their creation some 2,000 years ago. Permission has been given for the first (and probably the last) time for the 15 large-format fragments of murals to be sent abroad. Numerous exhibits were only discovered in the latest excavations.
In its Classical Epoch (100 B.C. to 650 A.D.) Teotihuacan was the first, largest and most influential metropolis on the American continent. Some thousand years later, in the 14th century, when the Aztecs discovered the abandoned ruins of the city, they gave it the name of Teotihuacan – “the place at which men become gods” – and used it as the setting for their own creation myth.
Treasures from leading Mexican museums have been brought together for this exhibition. Most of the exhibits come from the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and the two museums in Teotihuacan itself. In addition, the Anahuacalli Museum – built by Diego Rivera for his collection of pre-Hispanic sculptures – has for the first time lent valuable items. The exhibition is divided into nine sections. The first item to welcome the visitor is the Great Jaguar of Xalla, one of the more recent finds from a palace complex and a characteristic example of decorative monumental architecture. An introduction to the development of the city and its archaeological history is followed by a section on architecture and town planning as represented by sculptures, friezes and murals. The social themes of politics, hierarchies, economy, war and commerce are represented by a multitude of objects, including stone sculptures, clay vessels and jade jewellery. Obsidian, for example, was the material from which weapons were made, Teotihuacan being a great manufactory of weapons. There is a spectacular reconstruction of a tomb found under the Pyramid of the Moon in the course of an excavation campaign in 1998-2004. Original objects are shown in glass cases. A special category may be seen in the “innkeeper figures”, which house inside them tiny, elaborately shaped figurines arranged as in a seedling box. Religion, gods and rituals, urban and social life, art, crafts and workshops as well as cultural exchange are further themes of this unique show, which displays a wealth of new findings.
Mask from Malinaltepec, Teotihuacan and Western Mexico Guerrero, Malinaltepec, Middle Classic period (300-550 A.D.) Stone with inlaid work of turquoise, amazonite, obsidian and mussel shells; string of 55 pearls with pendant, 21.6 x 20.7 x 7.9 cm © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant: Olivier Dekeyser
Sculpture of a masked god, Teotihuacan, Xolalpan, Classic, Xolalpan phase (500-650 A.D.) Clay, stucco, colour pigments, 110 x 49 x 31 cm © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
Vessel with innkeeper figure, Becan, Campeche, 450-550 A.D., Clay, colour pigments, greenstone. Vessel: 16.5 x 18 cm - Figure: 22 x 16.2 cm © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
Anthropomorphic mask, Teotihuacan, Classical period (150-650 A.D.) Clay, stucco and paint, 17.5 x 24.4 x 7.1 cm © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant: Olivier Dekeyser
Archaeological site
Located nearly 50 kilometres to the north of Mexico City, Teotihuacan has had UNESCO heritage status since 1987 and is the most frequently visited of Mexico’s 170 accessible archaeological sites. The pyramid city lies in a wide valley that has been settled since time immemorial. Between the first century B.C. and about 650 A.D. the inhabitants laid out a unique Ceremonial Centre on the basis of astronomical observations. The main pyramids are the 63-metre-high Pyramid of the Sun, (Pirámide del Sol) with a lateral length of 215 metres, and the 48-metre-high Pyramid of the Moon (Pirámide de la Luna) at the northern end of the two kilometre-long Avenue of the Dead (Calzada de los Muertos). The southern end of the ensemble, of which only a fraction has been excavated and studied, is dominated by what the Spaniards called the “Citadel” (Ciudadela), containing the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent (Templo de la Serpiente Emplumada), and the Aztec Rain God, Tlaloc, which is decorated with 365 sculptures of these divinities. In this complex and under the Pyramid of the Moon archaeologists have made important discoveries in recent decades, showing that burials and sacrificial offerings, wars and taking of captives, were part of everyday life in Teotihuacan.
The Pyramid of the Sun seen from the Pyramid of the Moon, i.e. from the north-west © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
The city
Until its mysterious end in the 7th century, which was accompanied by a devastating fire, Teotihuacan was a powerful political, military, economic and cultural centre that influenced the whole of Mesoamerica, especially in the fields of architecture and art. The area covered by the city, which in its heyday was home to over 160,000 people and was one of the greatest cities in the world, was about 20 square kilometres. It was laid out along wide avenues and had efficiently functioning drainage and water-supply systems. The imposing and splendid pyramids, temples and palaces were coated with stucco and decorated with murals in brilliant colours. There were public buildings, administrative quarters, and various residential areas. Particularly worthy of note are the accommodations and workshops kept for visiting artists, craftsmen and traders from such places as Oaxaca or the Maya cities, who contributed to the city’s prosperity.
Feathered serpent and glyph, 650-750 A.D., stucco and paint © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
Jaguar of Xalla, Teotihuacan, Xalla, Xolalpan-Metepec phase, 350-652 A.D., Stone, stucco and paint, 97.5 x 235.5 x 74.5 cm © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
Feathered serpent and glyph, 650-750 A.D., stucco and paint © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
Anthropomorphic mask, Azcapotzalco, San Miguel Amantla, Classical period, late Xolalpan phase, 450-550 A.D. Clay, stucco and paint, 9.7 x 16.8 x 5.6 cm © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México | Foto: Martirene Alcántara, assistant Olivier Dekeyser
'Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler' @ British Museum
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Turquoise mosaic of a double-headed serpent. Mexica/Mixtec, 15th–16th century AD. From Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum
LONDON.- Completing its series of exhibitions exploring power and empire, the British Museum focuses on the last elected Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma II. Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler is the first exhibition to examine the semi-mythical status of Moctezuma and his legacy today. Loans of iconic material from Mexico and Europe will be displayed, most for the first time in this country. The exhibition anticipates the anniversaries in 2010 of the Independence of Mexico (1810) and of the Mexican Revolution (1910). 
Moctezuma (reigned 1502-1520) inherited and then consolidated Aztec control over a politically complex empire that by the early 16th century stretched from the shores of Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Moctezuma was regarded as a semi- divine figure by his subjects charged with the task of interceding with the gods. As a battle-hardened general he was appointed supreme military commander and headed the two most prestigious warriors orders: the eagle and jaguar warriors. He was elected as Ruling Lord (huey tlatoani) in 1502, built a new palace in the heart of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City) and restructured the court. The arrival of the Spanish, during Moctezuma’s reign, witnessed the collapse of the native world order and the imposition of a new civilization that gave birth to modern Mexico. (Image: Portrait of Moctezuma by Antonio Rodriguez © The Trustees of the British Museum)
Uniquely, the exhibition will present a biographical narrative of Moctezuma II and reveal the dual nature of his reputation. On the one hand, he is recognised as a successful and cunning warrior but he is also widely perceived as a tragic figure who ceded his empire to foreigners. Divergent interpretations of his mysterious death will be re-examined in the exhibition.
The exhibition will present masterpieces of Aztec culture including the impressive stone monument known as the Teocalli of Sacred Warfare, amongst other works commissioned by Moctezuma himself which bear his image and his name glyph. An exquisite turquoise mask and goldwork will showcase the consummate craftsmanship of artisans employed in the Aztec court and masterly paintings known as “Enconchados” (oil paintings on wooden panels with inlaid Mother of Pearl detail) portray the events of the conquest in vivid detail. Idealized European portraits of Moctezuma and stunning colonial Codices have helped shape our interpretations of Moctezuma and his world.
The exhibition 
The exhibition tells the story of Moctezuma II, the last elected ruler of the Aztecs, more correctly known now as the Mexica. From 1502 until 1520 he presided over a large empire embracing much of what is today central Mexico. This exhibition examines his life, reign and controversial death during the Spanish conquest. The Spanish arrived on Mexican shores in 1519, led by Hernan Cortes. They were initially well received in the Aztec capital, but distrust and violence ensued. Moctezuma was captured and met his death shortly afterwards. Overcoming resistance, the Spanish went on to conquer his empire. Moctezuma’s life and dramatic death are explained through objects ranging, from sculpture, gold and mosaic items to codices and European paintings. The objects are drawn from Mexican, European, US collections and the British Museum’s own collection. (Image: Nose Ornament, AD 1400 – 1521, Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum)
Introduction
According to myth, the ‘Aztecs’ were the ruling lords in the land of ‘Aztlan’. One subject group managed to escape their rule and began a long migration, adopting the name ‘Mexica’. The Mexica settled in the Basin of Mexico, founding their capital Tenochtitlan in about 1200. They spoke Nahuatl, one of many indigenous languages. ‘Aztec’ has been popularly but incorrectly used to describe the Mexica civilisation since the 1800s. The name ‘Mexica’ (pronounced ‘Mesheeka’) was recognised by the conquering Spanish, hence the name for modern Mexico.
Moctezuma’s fame is more celebrated in Europe than in Mexico itself. The exhibition opens with an idealised European portrait of Moctezuma from the 1600s. It is accompanied by a stone box that was owned by Moctezuma. This bears his identifying name-glyph, which will be encountered again in later sections. The exhibition will reveal what we know of Moctezuma’s life before the arrival of the Spanish.
The Aztecs (Mexica) 
The Mexica capital city, Tenochtitlan, was located on an island set in Lake Tetzcoco in the Basin of Mexico. The first section of the exhibition looks at the foundation myth and features objects relating to this mythology, including a greenstone heart and a large eagle sculpture. From its beginnings in about 1300, Tenochtitlan rapidly grew to become a thriving metropolis. Moctezuma was the last in a long line of Aztec rulers and lived in a palace adjacent to the main ceremonial precinct in the heart of Tenochtitlan. His immediate predecessor was his uncle Ahuitzotl. (Image: Teocalli of Sacred Warfare, AD 1507, Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum)
Moctezuma as ruler
Moctezuma is introduced through his coronation stone. We will explain how, once nominated to succeed his uncle, he had to prove himself through military campaign before being formally invested. At his coronation in 1502 he was given the insignia of office including treasured turquoise and gold items of personal adornment. Moctezuma built a new palace to administer the empire and lived there with his wives, children and the courtly entourage. A number of architectural fragments from the palace excavations will be on display.
Religion and the gods
Moctezuma was a vital intermediary with the Mexica gods and was himself regarded by his subjects as a semi-divine figure. He worshipped at the Great Temple, a huge stepped pyramid in the heart of the ritual centre of Tenochtitlan. We will display a model that will show the Temple and other ritual buildings. Moctezuma would have carried out blood-letting rituals, and ordered the sacrifice of captives. We will examine the most important gods, including Quetzalcoatl. It is a popularly held belief that Moctezuma considered Cortes to be a personification of the returning deity Quetzalcoatl, although this has been challenged by recent scholarship. The end of the section focuses on the New Fire Ceremony. This marked the end of a 52-year period in the Mexica calendrical cycle that occurred during Moctezuma’s reign and can be dated to 1508.
Warfare and empire
Moctezuma was a formidable warrior and head of the Mexica army. We will display a range of ceremonial weaponry as well as an imposing monument sculpted with Mexica warriors. Particularly important was the site of Malinalco, where the elite Jaguar and Eagle warriors were based. Moctezuma consolidated the Mexica empire and secured tribute, or taxes, that poured into Tenochtitlan. Exacting tribute in the form of raw materials or crafted goods contributed to the opulence of the court but meant that Moctezuma was feared and resented among subject towns.
Conquest 
The Spaniard Hernan Cortes landed on the coast in 1519 along with a few hundred men. At the same time, the Mexica are said to have witnessed strange omens and signs that are later depicted in the codices. Moctezuma sent emissaries to the coast with gifts for Cortes. Cortes forged alliances with bitter rival of the Mexica in the course of his march to Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma greeted Cortes but made the fatal mistake of allowing the Spanish into Tenochtitlan and housing them in a palace. The Spanish captured Moctezuma and unrest broke out in the city following a massacre of Mexica nobles by the Spanish. Shortly afterwards Moctezuma died – and it is widely believed that he was stoned to death by his own people. However, other sources claim that he was in fact secretly murdered by the Spanish. The main events of the conquest are documented by a series of colonial paintings. (Image: Gold Turtle Necklace, AD 1400 – 1521, Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum)
Moctezuma in history
After Moctezuma’s death, the Spanish conquered the Mexica Empire with assistance from Moctezuma’s enemies. We will display items that were later repurposed by the Spanish, such as a serpent sculpture that was inverted to form a baptismal font. Moctezuma’s daughters Isabel and Mariana and son Pedro survived the conquest. Codices show how they went to Spain and intermarried with the nobility there. Moctezuma has an ambivalent reputation within Mexico today, but his fame lived on as a figure of fascination within Europe. The exhibition ends with European portraits of Moctezuma. There depict him as a once-proud warrior and tragic figure who surrendered his empire but whose fame live on.
The exhibition will be the first ever in Europe focusing on the great age of Mexican printmaking in the first half of the twentieth century. Between 1910 and 1920 the country was convulsed by the first socialist revolution, from which emerged a strong left-wing government that laid great stress on art as a vehicle for promoting the values of the revolution. This led to a pioneering programme to cover the walls of public buildings with vast murals, and later to setting up print workshops to produce works for mass distribution and education. Some of the finest of these prints were produced by the three great men of Mexican art of the period: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. The exhibition will also include earlier works around the turn of the century by the popular engraver, José Guadalupe Posada, who was adopted by the revolutionaries as the archetypal printmaker who worked for the people, and whose macabre dances of skeletons have always fascinated Europeans.
24 September 2009–24 January 2010
Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca. Mexica/Mixtec, 15th–16th century AD. From Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum
Knife with a mosaic handle and a chalcedony blade. Mexica/Mixtec, 15th–16th century AD. From Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum
Mosaic mask of Quetzalcoatl. Mexica/Mixtec, 15th–16th century AD. From Mexico © The Trustees of the British Museum
Turquoise Mosaic Mask, Aztec/Mixtec AD 1400-1521, Mexico. Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum.
Stone bust of Quetzalcoatl. Aztec, A.D. 1300-1521 © The Trustees of the British Museum
Seated figure made of stone © The Trustees of the British Museum
Stone from Temple. Photo Michel Zabe/INAH.
Head of Serpent. Photo: Michel Zabe/INAH.
Cactus. Photo: Michel Zabe/INAH.
Altar of the warriors, c. 1510, Mexica. Basalt, 118 x 161 x 65cm. On loan from Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City.
Teocalli of Sacred Warfare, AD 1507, Mexico. Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - Institutio Nacional de Antropologia e Historia.
Hackmack box, AD 1506, Mexico. Copyright Hamburg Museum fur Volkerkunde. Photo John Williams.
Gold Turtle Necklace, AD 1400-1521, Mexico. Copyright Dumbarton Oaks, Pre-Columbian Collection, Washington, DC.
Gold finger ring, 1200 - 1521, gold pendant of human face and warrior-ruler figurine with ritual regalia. Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum.
Pendant, c. 1200-1521, Mixtec-Zapotec. Gold with silver and copper. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Finger ring made of cast gold with a feline head, 1300-1521, Mixtec. Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum.
Portrait of Moctezuma by Antonio Rodriguez. Oil on canvas 1680-97. Museo degli Argenti, Florence. Copyright Su concessione del Ministero per I Beni e le Attivit Culturali.
Fan. Photo: Michel Zabe/INAH.
(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Sotheby's Sale of American Indian Art to be Held May 20
Tlingit Polychromed Wood Comb (est. $60/80,000). Photo: Sotheby's
NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s annual sale of American Indian Art, including Property from the Collection of Frieda and Milton Rosenthal in New York will take place on May 20, 2009. The sale will feature several distinguished private collections, among them: The Estate of Herbert Wellington; Property from the Collection of Morton and Estelle Sosland, sold to benefit the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation; Property from the Evan Maurer-Naomi Margolis Collection; the Estate of Milton and Frieda Rosenthal; and Property from the Collection of Mrs. Novella and the Late Edwin C. Lineberry. Works from the sale will be on exhibition at Sotheby’s New York beginning May 16.
The Herbert G. Wellington Collection of American Indian Art is one of the most distinguished of its kind. Originating from the 1960s, the Collection grew over the span of three decades to include works of art from every major North American tribal tradition, many of which are considered true masterpieces. The Wellington Collection comprised the landmark 1982 book Pleasing the Spirits; A Catalogue of a Collection of American Indian Art, and it was the first private collection of American Indian art ever shown at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1983. The Wellington Collection has had a profound impact on the collecting and academic worlds of American Indian art.
A highlight of the Wellington Collection is an extraordinary Washoe Polychrome Basket woven by the renowned weaver Dat so la lee (est. $175/225,000). Dat so la lee, also known by the English name Louisa Keyser, was the first Washoe artisan to create baskets solely for retail sale. This was possible with the support of her patron, Abe Cohn, who hired her to produce baskets to be sold in his emporium. Without the burden of domestic responsibilities and the struggles of daily life, Dat so la lee was able to devote herself entirely to her craft for thirty years, from 1895 to 1925. Her weaving skill is unmatched – no other basket weaver so superbly integrated weave, shape and symbolization – and this sale represents the first appearance of her work at auction in almost twenty years.
Another featured lot from the Wellington Collection is an Early and Rare Eastern Woodlands Wood Pipe, possibly Iroquois, which was included in the 1982 exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled “Symbol and Substance in American Indian Art” (est. $150/250,000). This rare, sculptural piece has become a symbol of the Wellington Collection since its exhibition in 1982. The pipe, shaped like a war club, would have been used for tobacco-smoking ritual, and may have been used by a war chief in preparation for battle. A Pair of Haida Wood Figures, also exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum, will also be included from the Wellington Collection (est. $40/60,000).
Also from the Wellington Collection, Sotheby’s will offer a brilliant copy of the History of the American Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas Mckenney and James Hall this June as part of its June 9, 2009, Books and Manuscripts sale. This copy, estimated $80/120,000, post-dates The Smithsonian fire of 1865 where unfortunately most of the original paintings were destroyed. Thomas Mckenney, the first director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and James Hall, an Illinois lawyer and journalist, saw their work as a means of preserving an accurate record of a rapidly disappearing culture.
The spring auction will also include important Northwest Coast works from the Collection of Morton and Estelle Sosland of Kansas City, sold to benefit the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, which Morton Sosland helped to create in 1978. In just 30 years, the Community Foundation has partnered with an estimated 20,000 individuals to grant more than $1 billion to the community; has more than $1 billion in assets; and is recognized as a national leader in making sure every philanthropic investment returns the greatest emotional, civic and financial benefit possible.
Among the works to be offered from the Sosland Collection is a Tsimshian Polychromed Wood Crest Headdress (est. $175/225,000). While some clan hats are made of woven materials and display only certain features of an animal, the Sosland Headdress is carved from wood in the form of a whole bear poised on top of the wearer’s head. Based on specific carving and paint features such as a lack of two-dimensional design work and the blue pigment used, this work can be attributed to the Tsimshian people of the Pacific Northwest Coast and dated to the middle of the 19th Century.
A Large Kwakiutl Polychromed Wood Sun Mask will also be included (est. $150/250,000). The mask is carved in the form of a sun surrounding a face with a curved, birdlike beak. It is in the style of Charlie James, an esteemed turn-of-the-century carver who is perhaps best known today for his totem poles and houseposts. Two 1914 houseposts by James are installed in Vancouver’s Stanley Park and have, though repeated use and exposure through tourism marketing and advertising, become the quintessential image of Northwest Coast totem poles.
Frieda and Milton Rosenthal were accomplished collectors in many categories including African and Oceanic Art – which brought record prices at Sotheby’s in the fall of 2008 –and Japanese and Chinese Works of Art. Their collection of American Indian Art is broad and highlights include rare examples of artwork from the Northwest Coast of British Columbia and the Southwest United States, including a Tlingit Polychromed Wood Comb (est. $60/80,000). The masterful carving lavished on this piece reflects the care and imagination invested by Native artisans in all things, even the most ordinary of items, and their belief that beauty knew no bounds. Shaman's wore combs during curing ceremonies, as well as when they were not practicing, and decorated them with both spirit helpers and crest emblems. In this superb example, the comb prominently features a beaver. A Large Western Apache Coiled Polychrome Pictorial Olla will also be included from the same collection (est. $50/70,000). Apache women stopped production of large coiled ollas shortly after the turn of the century as smaller baskets became more popular and saleable.
Property from the Evan Maurer, the former director of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago, and Naomi Margolis Collection contains superb parfleche containers and is distinguished by a Pair of Cheyenne Painted Hide Parfleche Envelopes (est. $100/150,000), which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1941. Cheyenne artistry is among the finest, where artistic expression is closely tied to religion, and there is no greater example of Cheyenne artistic ability than their exquisitely drawn parfleche containers.
Property from the Collection of Mrs. Novella and the late Edwin C. Lineberry includes important indigenous art from New Mexico collected by the Taos, New Mexico’s eminent patrons Edwin Lineberry and Duane Van Vechten throughout their forty year marriage. Two years after Duane’s death in 1977, Edwin married his second wife Novella who shared her husband’s passion for art; together Edwin and Novella opened the Van Vechten-Lineberry Museum in Taos in 1994, in honor of Lineberry’s first wife, Duane
A Tsimshian Polychromed Wood Crest Headdress (est. $175/225,000). Photo: Sotheby's.
