Emily Kngwarrye leads the Mossgreen auction results charge

Part 1 of Mossgreen’s inaugural July auction of Australian Indigenous & Oceanic Art achieved strong and encouraging results with $1,461,682 including BP sold and many new artist records set.

 The sale kicked off with an important collection of early artefacts, which performed strongly. 

Lot 1, a rare ceremonial boomerang club (lil-lil) sold for $19,520 IBP (pre-sale estimate: $7,000-10,000) (View lot) and a collection of carved parrying shields (lots 6-10) exceeded their estimates.

 An important early carving by Albert Croker (Gulabagu) achieved an exceptional result and a new auction record for the artist: lot 32 The Buffalo (circa 1959) sold for $79,300 IBP (pre-sale estimate: $50,000-70,000) (View lot).

 This was directly followed by another great result and auction record with Wandjuk Marika’s bark painting Djan’kawu at Yalan’bara (circa 1959) which sold for $48,800 IBP (pre-sale estimate: $40,000-60,000) (View lot).

 The highlight of the contemporary section was the catalogue cover lot, Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Untitled (1993), which attracted a lot of interest during the viewings and sold to a local buyer for $207,400 IBP (pre-sale estimate: $80,000-120,000) (View lot).

 Oceanic artefacts also performed well, highlighted by two early canoe prow ornaments (lots 184 & 185) both selling well above their estimates at $31,720 and $63,440 IBP respectively (View lot 184) (View lot 185) .

Part 1 Results Summary

Auction total: $1,461,682 Including BP

Sold by value: 91.3%

Sold by volume: 57.6%

 

Top 10 Results

Lot	Description	Estimate	Result
73	Emily Kame Kngwarreye Untitled (1993)	$80,000-120,000	$207,400
32	Albert Croker (Gulabagu) The Buffalo (circa 1959)	$50,000-70,000	$79,300
84	Tommy Watson Ngura Tjuta (2005)	$40,000-60,000	$65,880
185	A fine canoe prow ornament (nguzunguzu)	$20,000-30,000	$63,440
78	Bill Whiskey (Tjapaltjarri) Rock Holes and Country Near the Olgas (2007)	$50,000-70,000	$61,000
55	Uta Uta (Tjangala) Big Corroboree with Water Dreaming Tjuringas (1972)	$50,000-70,000	$61,000
33	Wandjuk Marika Djan’kawu at Yalan’bara (circa 1959)	$40,000-60,000	$48,800
23	A rainforest shield	$30-000-50,000	$36,600
184	An early canoe prow ornament (nguzunguzu)	$12,000-18,000	$31,720
9	An early and exceptional narrow parrying shield	$18,000-25,000	$31,720

All results include Buyer’s Premium

 Head of Indigenous Art at Mossgreen, D’Lan Davidson said the Australian indigenous art market had matured and become highly discerning.

“The very strong results last night highlight an evolving and sophisticated market that clearly knows what it wants. Mossgreen remains focussed on meeting the needs of this most important movement in the market place,” he said.