Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo team up for two-day auction May 20 and 21

Maya Fluted Cylinder Diagonal Spiral, ex-Lands Beyond. Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerica, Maya culture, ca. 610–900 CE. Diagonal spiral fluting on red-slipped surface. Size: 4" Diameter x 9.1" H. Estimate: $2,500–$3,750,

BOULDER, COLO.— Artemis Fine Arts is a Colorado auction house known internationally as a premier authority in the field of ancient and ethnographic art, while Arte Primitivo is a New York City auction gallery that specializes in Pre-Columbian, African, ethnographic and ancient art. This collaboration unites decades of combined expertise from the highest echelon of the antiquities field. Two days of online-only auctions are scheduled for May 20 and 21, 2026, beginning at 9:00 AM MDT each day.

Artemis Fine Arts is a Colorado auction house known internationally as a premier authority in the field of ancient and ethnographic art, while Arte Primitivo is a New York City auction gallery that specializes in Pre-Columbian, African, ethnographic and ancient art. Together, the two houses bring to market a carefully assembled 490-lot sale drawn from private collections across the country.

Day 1, on May 20, presents 249 lots of Pre-Columbian and Native American Art. Day 2, on May 21, offers 241 lots of African, Tribal, Ethnographic Art, Fossils and Antiquities. Both sales are open for bidding now through Arte Primitivo’s established online bidding system, Artemis Fine Arts’ dedicated online platform, as well as LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable.

Day 1 — Tuesday, May 20: Pre-Columbian & Native American Art

The Maya material sets the tone for Day 1. Lot 129, a Classic period fluted cylinder vessel (ca. 610–900 CE, ex-Lands Beyond collection), is distinguished by bold diagonal spiral fluting across a deep, red-slipped surface — a technique that required both precision and control of the clay before firing. Estimate: $2,500–$3,750. Lot 131, a fine-line painted polychrome cylinder (ca. 500–800 CE), depicts an enthroned king receiving an offering bundle, with a procession of six dignitaries moving around the vessel. Some restorations are present, but the narrative is intact and legible. Estimate: $800–$1,200.

Lot 137, a Costa Rican polychrome head vessel (ca. 600–1000 CE), combines modeled relief facial features with painted geometric designs and a semiabstract feline deity on the reverse. Size: 7.875" H x 7.25" W. Estimate: $1,500–$2,250.

Lot 141 is a pair of Gran Cocle repousse gold ear ornaments from Panama (ca. 700–1000 CE), each worked from high-karat sheet gold — the larger assaying at 85.14%, the smaller at 80.2% — with cosmographic imagery consistent with Conte-phase metalworking. Total weight: 11.5 grams. Estimate: $1,800–$2,700.

Lot 203, a Lambayeque painted gauze shirt (ca. 1000–1250 CE), is complete with sleeves and V-neck, painted with stripes and geometric designs in blue and dark brown on white — a rare survival in a category where intact examples seldom reach the market. Size: 49.25" L x 28.25" W. Estimate: $1,000–$1,500.

Lot 208, an Anasazi/Chupadero black-on-white bowl from the Mimbres River Valley, New Mexico (ca. 950–1450 CE), carries a wide stepped geometric interior border. Repaired from thirteen original pieces, with painted decoration in overall excellent condition. Size: 3.5" H x 7.375" D. Estimate: $500–$750.

Lot 212, a Mississippian cat serpent effigy bowl (ca. 900–1500 CE), incorporates the stylized form of the cat serpent — a mythic water being central to Southeastern Native American cosmology — with a modeled head on one end and a looped serpent tail on the other. Size: 11.5" L x 7" W x 6.5" H. Estimate: $1,500–$2,500.

Lot 228, a Caddo Avery jar from Red River County, Texas (Mississippian culture, ca. 1200–1400 CE), is a commanding vessel with a crisply incised triangle and line band encircling the upper body, characteristic of the Avery phase tradition at its height. Size: 9" Diameter x 9.9" H. Estimate: $2,000–$3,000.

Lot 241 is a group of nine Santa Clara miniature pottery examples including two seed pots by Grace Medicine Flower (1979), signed in the clay; three small seed pots by Debra Harvey (now Duwyenie), a noted sgraffito artist from Santa Clara Pueblo; two miniature ollas by Dolores Curran, Santa Clara Pueblo; and two miniature bowls signed by Myra Santa Clara. All are intact and in excellent condition. Size range: 1.125" to 2" H. Estimate: $800–$1,200.

View all 249 Day 1 lots: auctions.artemisgallery.com/auction-catalog/day-1-pre-columbian-and-native-american-art_HPBOGDEI5V

Day 2 — Wednesday, May 21: African, Tribal, Ethnographic Art, Fossils & Antiquities

Day 2 opens with Lot 251; an Amazonian feathered headdress (mid-20th century) composed of blue and gold macaw feathers with a lower row of yellow and green macaw tips and a border of dark brown duck feathers. Ex Jean-Eugene Lions collection, Geneva, 1960s, with Swiss CITES Certificate #09CH026038. Size: 7.75" H x 40" L. Estimate: $1,000–$1,500.

Lot 273, a Guro dance mask from the Ivory Coast, is carved of heavy hardwood with an idealized face, fine coiffure with central part, slit eyes, and coiled ears. The layered patina reflects repeated use. Provenance: ex Julius Carlebach collection, acquired pre-1964; ex estate of Dr. Walter Wallace, Princeton, N.J.; ex estate of Dr. David V. Becker, NYC, 1923–2010. Size: 10.5" H. Estimate: $1,000–$1,500.

Lot 340, a Topoke painted shield from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is formed of palm bark bound with plant fiber basketry, with horizontal bands painted in red, cream and black in geometric patterns. Ex Marshall and Caroline Mount Collection, N.J.; ex estate of Merton D. Simpson; acquired from Quinn’s Auction, November 2016. Size: 38.5" H x 15.75" W. Estimate: $1,000–$1,500.

Lot 369 is the top lot by estimate: a fossilized skull of Archaeotherium mortoni — the entelodont known informally as the Hell Pig — from the Upper Brule Formation, Pennington County, South Dakota (Oligocene period, ca. 35 to 28 million years ago). Complete entelodont skulls are scarce; this example comes from a private Texas collection, ex private New Jersey collection. Size: 16" L x 8" W x 8.5" H. Estimate: $9,000–$13,000.

Lot 412, an Egyptian painted wood sarcophagus fragment (Third Intermediate Period, 21st–22nd Dynasty, ca. 1070–664 BCE), preserves a register of hieroglyphic text above a seated deity — most likely Osiris or Anubis — rendered in the characteristic ochre, black and Egyptian blue palette of the period’s coffin workshops. Size: 4.6" W x 8.9" H; 10.3" H on included custom stand. Estimate: $2,600–$3,900.

Lot 413, a Coptic textile clavus (Egypt, Late Antique period, ca. 300–700 CE), depicts a nude pyrrhic dancer holding a round shield, flanked by lions, woven in dark wool on natural linen. Pyrrhic dancing, rooted in Greek athletic tradition, traveled through the Roman world before being reinterpreted within the visual language of Coptic textiles. Size of textile: 15.4" L x 4.9" W. Estimate: $800–$1,200.

Lot 483, a still life oil on canvas by Elise Nees von Esenbeck (German, 1842–1921), is inscribed on a tag depicted within the painting: “E. Nees v. Essenbeck Breslau, Garvestrasse.” The composition centers on a large woven basket with clusters of grapes, surrounded by a watermelon, gourds, pumpkins, an ear of corn, dried peppers, and a silver fruit platter — a work that reflects both technical skill and the influence of the Dutch Golden Age still life tradition. Estimate: $3,000–$6,000.

Lot 488, “Beloved” (1987) by Erté (Romain de Tirtoff, Russian-born French, 1892–1990), is a cold-painted bronze sculpture, edition number 27 of 375, signed, numbered and dated on base with JM foundry mark for the Joel Meisner Foundry. The figure is draped in a silver cape ornamented with rows of embossed roundels, from the lower edge of which falls a cascading fringe of fine ball-chain. Estimate: $1,800–$3,000.

View all 241 Day 2 lots: auctions.artemisgallery.com/auction-catalog/arte-primitivo-tribal-ethnographic-ancient-asian_XR3H8FALL6

“The February sale showed us what this collaboration can do when both houses bring their best material and their collector networks to the same table,” said Teresa Dodge, owner and executive director of Artemis Fine Arts. “This May sale is a solid, well-rounded offering — the kind of auction where a serious collector can find something genuine at a fair price. That’s exactly the point.”

Both auctions are online only, accessible through Arte Primitivo’s established online bidding system, Artemis Fine Arts’ dedicated online platform, as well as LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable. Clients are encouraged to bid through Arte Primitivo’s or Artemis Fine Arts’ native platforms, where buyer’s premiums are more advantageous. Dedicated specialists from both firms are available by phone before, during and after the auction.

Digital catalogs — along with preview information and direct bidding links — are available in advance of each sale on both galleries’ websites. Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo ship worldwide and maintain in-house shipping departments to ensure quality control. In-house shipping is available upon request.

For additional information on any auction item, call Teresa Dodge at Artemis Fine Arts at 720-890-7700 or email teresa@artemisfinearts.com. Bid absentee or live online through auctions.artemisgallery.com.

Questions? Interested in Consigning? Contact Teresa Dodge: teresa@artemisfinearts.com | 720.936.4282