Rare Aztec Deity of Xochipilli-Macuilxochitl at Bonhams Auction

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Rare Aztec Deity of Xochipilli-Macuilxochitl, (circa AD 1450-1521) will be the highlight at Bonhams‘ African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian sale in New York on November 12. The figure, made from a light-green aragonite that depicts Xochipilli wearing the headdress of the crested coxcoxtli, a bird whose open bill frames his face and feathers wrap around Xochipilli’s form like a garment is estimated to bring $80,000 – 120,000.

From Papua New Guinea is an exceptional Sawos Ancestral Guardian Male Figure, estimated to fetch between $40,000 and 60,000. The wooden figure towers at 83 inches and has a large oblong head from which bulbous tubular eyes protrude. It was once in the prestigious collection of Marcia and John Friede. A selection of pieces fresh to the market include a fine and extremely rare Bird Pendant from Easter Island (est. $8,000-12,000) that boasts an exceptional reddish-brown patina, a finely carved ovoid form that portrays a bird halfway hatched from an egg; a rare stone God Image from Ra’ivavae in the Society Islands (est. $8,000 – 12,000), whose stylized facial features gaze upward with an open mouth; and a fine and rare Parrying Shield from the Tonga Islands (est. $12,000-18,000), which used to serve as a weapon as well that was carried by priests and chiefs. A small and tasteful selection of Tribal Art from the Collection of Ben-Zion, a New York City based artist and writer who was a member of the expressionist group “The Ten,” which included Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb, will also be on offer. A prominent section in this auction features the highly acclaimed, single-owner collection of roughly 130 Pre-Columbian works of art from Mesoamerica from the Collection of Scott Gentling and Stuart Gentling.