DALLAS, TX.- An outstanding selection of pieces from renowned Pre-Columbian and Tribal Art scholar James M. Silberman will be offered for the first time in decades in a single-owner auction Sept. 16 at Heritage Auctions. The selection spans more than 200 lots collected during 70 years of travel and consultation right up until his passing at age 103.

"Few collections have received as much exposure as those items belonging to Mr. Silberman," said Delia Sullivan, Senior Specialist of Ethnographic Art at Heritage. "His collection helped many institutions better understand the art and culture of Africa, and he later became a consultant on the subject."

Silberman became passionate about tribal art and especially African art during his college years at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the 1930s. He joined the Department of Labor in 1941, working on production of war material for WWII and then became chief of the productivity division in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This expertise led to invitations from European governments in the post-war period to do productivity surveys of their industries, and subsequently, to develop the Marshall Plan technical assistance program, for which the Government of France named him "Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur" in October 1953.

This program resulted in frequent trips to Europe and it was during these trips in the late 1940s that Silberman haunted galleries and bought from fellow collectors specializing in African art, and purchased items such as an alluring and important Pwo Female Mask from Angola, representing the Chokwe founding female ancestor (est. $15,000-$25,000) and a Seated Female Figure from Igala, Nigeria, (est. $10,000 - $20,000).

Silberman's position later required travel to West Africa and the Congo. He bought extensively then, but by the mid-1950s, having moved from the DOL to the U.S. foreign assistance program, he began traveling extensively to West Africa and the Congo where he again bought extensively, both in galleries in the main cities and also while traveling through rural areas.

A Hemba Ancestor Figure from the Democratic republic of Congo (est. $8,000-$10,000) is on offer, as is a fine old Songye Divination Implement in the form of an Oracle (est. $8,000-$10,000). A small, heart-shaped Mask from Lega, Democratic Republic of Congo, was formerly owned by members of the Bwami society, who displayed the masks on specially constructed fences (est. $8,000-$10,000).

Additional masks include one made by the Lwena people in Angola and their counterparts, the Lovale in Zambia (est. $4,000-$6,000). This mask represents a founding ancestor who acts as a guardian of the boys during initiation and sequestration in the bush-camp. An expressive Bamileke Dance Mask – customarily used during festivals and funeral celebrations of important individuals was made in Cameroon (est. $4,000-$6,000).

During the 1960s, Silberman became a close associate of Warren Robbins, who began the Museum of African Art, the predecessor of the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution; and he helped mount two major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art on North West American Indian Art and African Art. During this time, he developed a new career as an appraiser of African art and a consultant to other collectors, notably as consultant to Lee Bronson as he assembled his collection, which became a major traveling exhibition, "A Survey of Zairian Art," and the accompanying book edited by J. Cornet.

Dad retired from government in 1973 and increased his appraising and consulting work with hundreds of collectors and dozens of colleges, universities, and museums. He also added extensive additional travel to Africa to buy traditional works of art that were becoming increasingly difficult to find.

His love of tribal art and collecting continued well into his 100s, and he loved nothing more than to sit down with close friends to discuss pieces, ones collected decades earlier or recently acquired by his friends. He died this year on his 103rd birthday.

"His family selected Heritage Auctions to offer 'the best of the best' to its clients," Sullivan said. "Most all of these works have not been made available outside his collection in decades."

Additional highlights from the James M. Silberman Collection include, but are not limited to:

• A "Chiwara" Antelope Headpiece — an unusual "horizontal" style, combining sweeping antelope horns and a long, curled tail suggests a feline (est. $3,000-$5,000).

• An Elaborate Polychrome Offering Plate, circa 650-850 AD from Maya, Naranjo Area, Guatemala (est. $3,000-$5,000).

• A Mississippian Platform Pipe, composed of green stone, with a raccoon on the platform (est. $2,000-$3,000).