DALLAS, TX.- If we take a closer look at this classic Navajo man’s wearing blanket, which is a highlight of Heritage’s October 30 Ethnographic Art: American Indian, Pre-Columbian and Tribal Art Signature® Auction, we can begin to suss out what makes it so special: The historic churro wool, the pattern of stripes dyed with indigo and cochineal, the weave tight enough to hold water. This is considered a Second Phase Chief’s Pattern; fewer than 150 of these are known to exist today. Via eight different anonymous and named collections of treasures that span the globe and thousands of years, this event offers, among its 500-plus lots, some of the finest examples of American Indian weavings, baskets, clothing and jewelry along with significant examples of pottery; headdresses and masks from Nigeria and other parts of Western Africa; and fantastic Pre-Columbian gold and ceramic objects from Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and other parts of the Central and South American region.

“Heritage is proud to present so many beautiful artworks with this auction,” says Delia Sullivan, Heritage's Director of Ethnographic Art. “From the intricately woven North American beadworks and weavings to the finely sculpted Pre-Columbian gold objects and large African masks, there is something for everyone’s taste.”

Heritage’s Ethnographic Art events are often led by a selection of American Indian Art, and the Oct. 30 auction benefits from several U.S.-based collections, including a private Scottsdale-based collection of weavings, baskets, articles of Plains clothing and more in excellent condition (the collection actually covers centuries, and regions in North, Central and South America). A Comanche beaded hide baby carrier, circa 1890, is a masterpiece of intricate engineering, tightly beaded in a gorgeous pattern of rich indigo. It is the cover lot on the auction’s catalog, and joins other pieces from the collection selling later this month, including a circa-1880 Crow beaded hide baby carrier, also in fantastic condition; a rare, outsized Apache pictorial coiled storage jar made by artist Hattie Randall circa 1928, and a Navajo Moki weaving circa 1875.

Very fine beaded works from the Bill Boyd Collection out of Oregon brings to the event a number of coveted Cheyenne cases, pouches, moccasins and more — Cheyenne beadwork, known to be extremely fine and detailed, is unparalleled in landscape of American Indian objects: This Southern Cheyenne beaded hide tobacco bag is no exception, and neither is this pair of Cheyenne child's beaded hide boot moccasins and this pair of Southern Cheyenne adult’s ornately fringed and beaded moccasins.

The Allan and Carol Hayes Collection, out of Sausalito, offers up a number of modern polychrome jars, bowls, effigies, and figures including this large Cochiti polychrome figure by artist Virgil Ortiz, circa 1992. The figure’s detail-rendered eyelashes, jewelry, toenails and black outfit grant him enormous charisma; two fantastic Cochiti bowls by the artist Diego Romero “Chongo,” circa 2005 — one depicting a Sendak-like character chasing a dog and the other a man falling from a ladder — come from this collection as well.

Works from Western Africa make up many of the highlights of this auction’s Tribal section, and several collections give shape to it. The well-established Dr. Samuel and Lynn Berkowitz Collection offers up key pieces, including this important Kota reliquary guardian from Gabon from the turn of the last century. “This magnificent reliquary guardian has design elements characteristic of the Ndassa, a subgroup to the larger Kota people of Gabon,” says Sullivan. “It is in excellent condition considering its age, origin, and materials.” From the same collection it is joined by this extravagant Ekoi Janus headdress, a 20th-century work from the Cross River Region of Nigeria. “The back-to-back head and neck is a single piece of carved wood covered with animal skin stained a dark red-brown color, with remains of white pigment on its eyes and teeth,” says Sullivan. “One face has gentle feminine feel with a friendly smile, while the other is more masculine, with sharply filed teeth.” The Berkowitz Collection runs deep, and includes this extraordinary Bwa plank mask from Burkina Faso, also from the early part of the last century. It’s 70 inches long. “This is a very well-designed and proportioned example of this zoomorphic mask that represents a nature spirit,” says Sullivan. “In Bwa ceremonies — funerals, initiations, and agricultural festivals — a parade of different large masks worn by men wearing long raffia costumes would enter a village from a distance and perform acrobatic feats and energetic dances.”

The Pre-Columbian gold and ceramic objects in this event is another strong suit. The aforementioned Scottdale-based collection includes significant works in this category, such as this pair of Moche ear spools from Peru circa 600-900 AD; the ceramic bases are adorned with a mosaic of lapis, shell, green stone and flint and depict a striding human with a bird beak and wings; and this Chimu staff top, also from Peru and dated to 1100-1400 AD. The bone is inlaid with blue-green stone and shell; it depicts a lower arm and hand with clenched fist and is engraved in horizontal bands with geometric designs, animals, insects, and a standing warrior at the thumb area. And a superb Teotihuacan mask comes from the Scottsdale offering. From Mexico, circa 400-700 AD, it is carved from a hard stone, with a youthful face with open eyes and mouth, each drilled in the corners for inlay. Also from this collection: A sculpted Nayarit couple from Ixtlan del Rio, West Mexico, circa 250 BC - 250 AD, which is remarkable not only for its intact preservation but also for being an engaging matched pair with a great sculptural presence, their adornments and garments counterpointing one another.

Gold in the Pre-Columbian section includes outstanding works from other collections, including a rare International-style gold bat in flight from the Panama-Colombia region circa 550-850 AD. The body and wings are one plane, delineated by lines and notches etched between the body and wings and spiraling out on the hands. This outstanding gold lot is a cocle deer pendant from Panama circa 600-1000 AD. “This is an imaginative and unique expression by a master gold artist of ancient Central America,” says Sullivan. “The deer appears to be kneeling, its head raised with antlers, ears and human facial features, lips raised showing finely detailed teeth and the head of a frog protruding like a tongue.”