Boogeyman’s Nigerian Epku Oro, Wang Qi Porcelain, Edgar Allan Poe Books, and Josephine Baker Poster Lead Millea Bros. Ltd.’s Three-Day Estate Auction

In the culture of the Oron people of southern Nigeria, an ancestral figure or Epku Oro was presented as a status symbol to an esteemed Oron elder as a part of a ritual. The Epku represented the social standing of the elder as a guardian and keeper of a shrine, someone who would assure the well-being of their offspring. The earliest known ancient wooden carving of the Oron people dates back to 2,370 BCE. The practice stopped sometime in the 1930s. This fall, Millea Bros. Ltd. will offer a 19th-century carved wood Nigerian Epku on Day 1 of the ABC: Estate Finds Auction. It has an orb-shaped head with deeply carved facial features, a long notch-carved beard, and straight arms reaching down to a solid block base. The figure comes from the estate of Martin Wright, the Boogeyman, an American retired professional wrestler. 

The highlights of the three-day sale include Americana Art and illustration, fine art, decorative objects, Asian and African arts, artifacts, antiquities, a selection of English and American silver from the estates of distinguished professor Philip Gould, noted collector Martin Wright, a New York media executive, and Charles E. Sigety. The sale also offers a wide selection of furniture, modern design, decorative objects, and artworks sourced from New York City and New Jersey estates. 

A set of four 20th-century Chinese enameled porcelain items is another leading lot. These Republic-period polychrome famille rose plaques were painted by Wang Qi (1884 – 1937), a member of the renowned Eight Friends of Zhushan. Each plaque depicts two seated Buddhist figures. The lot comes from the collection of visual artist Lewis Stein. Another notable lot is a 1902 set of ten volumes of The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, illustrated by Frederick Simpson Coburn, who has signed under the illustrations. The volumes were printed by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Find the complete listings of this and other online auctions on Bidsquare.