Nagaland collection set to sell

One of the most extensive collections in private hands of works from Nagaland, Northeast India is to be sold at auctioneers Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury this month.

Amassed over a period of 50 years, by the celebrated art publisher and artist Hansjorg Mayer (b.1943), the sale offers enthusiasts and collectors around the world a one-off opportunity to obtain rare and unique pieces from this unknown region and people.

Mayer’s collection began accidentally, as friends had purchased a work at auction that had been produced in Nagaland. It intrigued him so much, that he offered to buy it from them. This would initiate a lifelong fascination with the region and the pieces created there. The collection of vibrant jewellery, clothing, vessels, weaponry and textiles grew extensively over the course of Mayer’s lifetime and as such, over 180 group lots will be offered in a special auction titled Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas on February 19.

The Naga people are believed to have descended from early Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups, who developed their own distinct cultures and societies based on clans, each with its own language, set of customs, dress codes and social structures. They were traditionally animists, believing in a supreme being and spirits, as well as the supernatural, which many of the pieces in this collection demonstrate. This changed in the mid-19th century when missionaries introduced Christianity to the region. After India’s independence in 1947, the Naga people became Indian citizens and are more connected to mainstream Indian society today, however some still seek independence. They predominantly practice Christianity, alongside some of the more spiritual rituals inherited from their descendants.

Mayer said: “There was little known about Nagaland and its indigenous people in the 1970’s when I began collecting. A state in India’s northeast region, it is remotely situated among the hills and mountains bordering Myanmar to the east, Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Manipur to the south and Assam to the west. Not only was it difficult to get to, due to the terrain, but it was also difficult politically and therefore impossible to obtain travel documents for, so I disappointingly never got to go and see anything first-hand, even though I tried.”

Mayer explained he would search for original pieces with full provenance from antiques dealers and auction houses around the world, as well as directly from some of the Naga people who would travel out of their region to trade in India. He said having treasured his pieces for over 50 years it is now time to pass his collection on to others, that will hopefully appreciate them as much as he has. Many of the pieces in the collection were featured in a seminal text on the Naga people titled The Nagas, Hill People’s of North East India, by Julian Jacobs, published in collaboration with Mayer’s own publishing house and Thames & Hudson in 1990.

The Nagas practiced exceptional craftwork such as pottery, weaving, jewellery-making, metalwork, and wood carving, which resulted in a rich array of practical, as well as decorative items. The collection spans highly decorative beaded necklaces in vibrant colours, head and body ornaments, as well as spectacularly decorated clothing, masks, head wear and accessories, such as pipes, baskets and horns as well as spears and other weaponry and utensils.

Among an extensive selection of striking jewellery in the collection is a large, vibrant woman’s necklace with graduated carnelian beads, bone spacers and brass bell pendants in contrasting colours, adding to its dramatic look. Wide necklaces with lots of strands were usually worn by women, while Naga men wore thinner versions. Beaded necklaces were created as a form of regalia, to show a person’s status and wealth, as well as certain ceremonies, festivities and celebrations. Skilled craftspeople in their own right, the Naga people created jewellery with rudimentary tools, that was often elaborate, patterned and in contrasting textures and colours.

The varying elements that the necklaces were comprised of were considered a form of currency within the Naga tribe and were used for dowries, as well as being passed down as family heirlooms. This spectacular example carries an estimate of £1,500-£2,000. The collection includes an array of other colourful beaded necklaces, with varying estimates from £200-£500.

Among other adornments are several different styles of Naga armbands, including a set of six brass versions in spiral form, incised with a linear and lozenge decoration, estimate £300-£500, and three pairs of brass bracelets with a decoration of chevrons, lines and scrolls, estimate of £400-£600. A brass Naga warrior’s torque in the sale featuring two heads and nine disc protrusions with a spiral decoration, estimated at £200-£300, is one of a range of neck adornments on offer and could be mistaken for a contemporary piece of jewellery. The word ‘torque’ originates from the Latin word for ‘twist’, referring to the twist of the metal to make a circular neck ring. Usually open at the front they are typically made from a single piece of metal, or multiple twisted strands and the more elaborate they were, the higher the status among the warriors.

Hair adornments in Nagaland ranged from hairpins for the women, to large headdresses for the male warriors, featuring many decorative elements. Women’s bridal headdresses were also worn and an example in the sale is formed in brass and sports four protrusions, each hung with a tapered panel.  The main frame of two bamboo sticks is bound with ribbons of Job’s Tears seeds and beetle wings, estimate of  £300-£400.

Among unusual hairpins are three wood-carved versions, with one modelled as a miniature hand, and another with a tuft of dyed red hair, estimated at £200-£300. A more elaborate Naga men’s headdress in the sale has a woven fibre cap and two bands with metal spikes. It is adorned with the tail feathers of a Great Indian Hornbill and smaller chicken feathers. An applied circular metal bossed disc is flanked by two discs applied with red kafferboom and white Job’s Tears seeds and horse hair, estimated £1,000-£1,500.

Hunting and gathering was a priority for the Naga tribal people, for both food sources and materials for clothes. The collection has a selection of items that reflect this such as horns used as drinking vessels, as well as several group lots of spears, for example – a group of ten comprised of wood, goat hair, woven red rattan and yellow orchid stem and metal blades, estimated at £150-£200.