Online auction selling art, artifacts Dec. 1

EL CAJON, Calif. – Helm Auction, Inc.’s end-of-year Holidaze! auction on Saturday, Dec. 1 is filled with over 550 lots of Native American artifacts (such as Navajo weavings and Pueblo pottery), pre-Columbian artifacts, other pre-historic items (like arrowheads and stone tools), oil paintings and other fine artwork, Oceanic, African and Asian tribal artifacts and more.

The catalog also includes Native American and Mexican jewelry from the 20th century. Many pre-Columbian artifacts are from a high-end Rancho Santa Fe, California estate, collected by a dentist and descended in the family. Items include fine Native American baskets, antique and decorative glass and ceramics, Japanese and Chinese antiques, plus Helm’s usual tribal offerings.

The online-only auction will get underway promptly at 9:15 a.m. Pacific time, with internet bidding provided by LiveAuctioneers.com, iCollector.com and via the Helm Auction website: https://bit.ly/2zkLvhS. Absentee bids can be submitted to admin@helmauction.com, or by snail mail to Helm Auction, Inc., 772 Jamacha Rd. #303, El Cajon, CA 92019. There is no phone bidding.

Two rare and highly collectible lots are expected to battle for top earner of the sale. One is an original oil on canvas figural landscape painting by the Latvian-born German painter Johann Valters, better known as Walter Kurau (1869-1932). The painting, housed in a gold gilt frame measuring an impressive 62 1/2” by 61 1/2”, should reach $40,000-$55,000.

Another is lot 201: an 8th century Bactrian camel figure from the Tang Dynasty, made of terra cotta and paint and a fine example of a centuries-old ceramic ($50,000-$150,000). The camel stands 21” tall and is finely modeled, with its head raised in a powerful, stately pose. The figure stands foursquare on a mahogany wood-fitted plinth measuring 8” by 6”.

The pre-Columbian artifacts from the Rancho Santa Fe estate will feature a Chupicuaro (Mexico) polychrome female doll made of clay and paint and large at 11” tall, with just a minor chip on the toe ($3,000-$12,000); and a large male Colima (Mexico) figure, also made of clay and paint and even larger at 13 1/2” tall, with an unusual face ($3,000-$10,000).

Native American objects are highly collectible and will be plentiful in the sale. A large White Mountain Apache (Arizona) basket, made in the 1920s of willow and devil’s claw, measuring 18” by 3”, should command $2,500-$10,000. The basket has a fine geometric design.

Other Apache lots include a circa 1890s grain barrel, made by the White Mountain Apache in Arizona of willow and devil’s claw, having crosses, diamonds, deer and arrowhead designs ($2,500-$5,000); and a polychrome San Carlos Apache (New Mexico) olla, circa 1940s, made of willow, red bud and devil’s claw, in good condition ($2,000-$6,000).

Rounding out the Native American category, a circa 1920s Pomo (San Francisco County, Calif.) beaded gift basket, made of grass and shell is estimated to bring $1,000-$1,500; and a Northern Plains back rest, made of willow, string, sinew and cloth circa 1900, 55” long by 29” wide at the base, with nice paint and just a little cloth tearing, should hit $500-$1,500.

Asian objects will feature a pair of Ming Dynasty porcelain plates, each plate 10 inches by 2 inches, with minor wear, has an estimate of $1,800-$3,600; while a hand-painted Japanese Edo Period porcelain bowl, 8 1/2” by 4 1/2”, should hit $750-$1,500.

Helm Auction, Inc. is an online auction firm specializing in Native American and tribal artifacts. For more information about the firm and its Dec. 1 Holidaze! online auction, visit https://live.helmauction.com/.