THE TODD BARLIN COLLECTION – PART TWO: FINE OCEANIC & ASIAN ARTS

DATE: Sunday May 8

LOCATION: Theodore Bruce Auction, 6 Ralph Street, Alexandria, Sydney, NSW

Theodore Bruce Auctions is very proud to announce the second session of the Todd Barlin Collection of Fine Oceanic & Asian Arts. Part one of this important collection of Oceanic Art was sold on August 17, 2015 with exceptional results. The sale raised $430,000 (including Buyer’s Premium) from pre-sale estimates of $150,000 to $220,000 and achieved a 98% clearance rate.

The sale, except for a very few items, was unreserved, which attracted intense interest from local and international buyers. The high quality of the material offered, including many well provenanced items from the nineteenth century, made the Todd Barlin Collection Part One a highlight of the auction year in the ethnographic field and one of the most interesting auctions for many years. The sale attracted widespread publicity and drew strong buyer interest and intense competition between online, absentee and telephone bidders fighting it out in the auction room, which was packed with Sydney’s Oceanic art connoisseurs as well as many clients who had travelled to Sydney to attend the event.

A total of 90 buyers were successful in purchasing the 303 items sold, including many new buyers. A significant proportion of the Collection was sold to overseas buyers, reinforcing again the strength of the market for fine Oceanic material both in Australia and internationally. Mr. Barlin was well pleased with the results – both for the solid prices achieved and in his professed desire to have his prized pieces sent on their way to collections around the world, where they will continue to be cherished and give great satisfaction to their new owners.

The Todd Barlin Collection – Part Two, to be held at 12.00 pm, on Sunday May 8th, 2016, is a particularly strong offering of both Oceanic and Asian Art. Due to health concerns Mr. Barlin has further rationalized his substantial collection, giving collectors of fine Oceanic and Asian art a rare chance to acquire first class objects with an enviable provenance from one of the world’s foremost dealers and collectors. Mr. Barlin has supplied authentic artworks to many of the world’s leading museums and art galleries (full list available) over a thirty year career that has spanned intensive periods of field collecting; working as an Oceanic Art Specialist for Sotheby’s and running his own Oceanic Art Gallery in Paddington, Sydney.

Oceanic highlights of the sale include: a rare Micronesian Navigational Map made of cowrie shells and coconut midribs which was collected by C. Barnes on Truk Island in the 1950’s (Lot 37, estimate $3000-4000); A Fine and Early Vao Island Ceremonial Pig Killing Hammer with an ancient patina and two beautifully carved ancestral faces which dates to the late 19th Century (Lot 53, estimate $4000-6000); and an exquisite 19th Century Motu Shield from Central Province, Papua New Guinea, with a hourglass configuration and finely woven binding (Lot 54, estimate $8000-1200). There are also a diverse range of objects from across the Pacific including body ornamentation; drums; figures; masks and fighting implements. Many of these Lots have low end estimates starting at $500.

The Asian portion of the sale is especially strong with 223 lots from Japan; China; Laos; Burma; Tibet; Indonesia and Mongolia. This offering reflects the staggering breadth of Mr. Barlin’s tastes and interests. All the objects have been acquired for their beauty and rarity and it is a treat to have such a diverse range of fascinating artworks offered in one sale. Highlights of the Asian section of the sale include: Two Japanese Inro from the Meiji period ca. 1830-1880 made of lacquered wood to be hung from belts by men when wearing traditional robes (Lot 171, estimate $1000-1500); A Finely Carved Mongolian Wood and Polychrome Painted Figure of Vajrakiliya from the late 19th Century (Lot 150, estimate $2000-3000); and a fine 19th Century Wood and Lacquer Buddha from Shan State, Burma, which is seated in the Vajrasana position on a lotus pedestal (Lot 307, estimate $2000-3000). The sale has a wide range of other Asian artworks including Japanese pottery and ceramics; travelling shrines; Tibetan Tsakli paintings; Mongolian Thangka paintings; Turkish anatomical paintings; a collection of Indonesian kris; and several Japanese natural wood form scholar’s objects. Surely a sale not to be missed by anyone with an interest in Oceanic and Asian art.