Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo set third joint online auction for June 11-12

By AI, Created 9:26 PM UTC, June 04, 2026, /AGP/ – Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo are staging a two-day, online-only auction June 11-12 with Pre-Columbian, Spanish Colonial, Native American, tribal, African and ancient art, plus fossils and other objects. The sale broadens bidding access across multiple platforms and follows a February debut joint auction that drew nearly $1.5 million in strong international bidding.

Why it matters: - The third joint sale expands access to rare antiquities and ethnographic art across multiple online bidding platforms. - The auction follows a February collaboration that drew nearly $1.5 million, signaling continued international demand for top-tier museum-quality material. - The format gives collectors a broader chance to compete for high-value lots without being on-site.

What happened: - Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo will hold a two-day online-only auction on June 11-12. - Day 1 centers on fine Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art. - Day 2 includes Native American, tribal, African, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Near Eastern antiquities, plus Asian art, fine art, fossils and more. - Bidding is open through Artemis Fine Arts’ platform, Arte Primitivo’s system, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable and Drouot. - The auction starts at 9 a.m. MT / 11 a.m. ET on both days. - Absentee bidding is already underway. - The sale will use a live-style format, with lots closing sequentially rather than independently.

The details: - A museum-exhibited Diquis gold pendant from Panama, circa 1200-1500 CE, leads the opening session with a $60,000-$90,000 estimate. - A gold kero with shamanic figures, circa 750-1000 CE, is estimated at $15,000-$22,500. - An International-Veraguas gold pendant shaped like a shark, made circa 800-1500 CE, carries a $36,000-$54,000 estimate. - A monumental Aztec three-piece pottery sculpture of Mictlantecuhtli, circa 1000-1450 CE, is estimated at $29,000-$43,500. - A matching pair of Aztec black ceramic ear ornaments from Tenochtitlan, circa 1400-1533 CE, carries a $5,000-$7,500 estimate. - Lots 90 and 91 each carry $25,000-$37,500 estimates: a Teotihuacan-era volcanic stone brazier of Huehueteotl and a Totonac pottery seated dignitary from Veracruz. - Lots 113 and 115 each carry $20,000-$30,000 estimates: a Maya marble vase depicting Chac and a polychrome Maya vase with four gods. - A royal Sican silver sheet copper mask from Peru is estimated at $19,000-$28,500. - A Chimu silver kero from north central Peru is estimated at $6,000-$9,000. - Spanish Colonial lots include material from the private collection of Samuel Saunders of Nogales, Arizona. - Saunders is a partner of Holler & Saunders, Ltd., founded in 1979 and widely regarded as a leading authority in Spanish Colonial and Mexican folk art. - Included from that collection are a Cusco School portable devotional oratory, a 19th-century silver votive crown, a Mexican Saint Michael bulto and a Guerrero silver “Barbone” mask. - Day 2 is led by a 13¼-inch Chinese Ming Dynasty wood and stucco head of a Buddhist guardian deity with a $100,000-$150,000 estimate. - Another major lot is an Eastern Mediterranean cast-bronze statuette of Victory, estimated at $56,000-$84,000. - A Caddoan trophy head vessel, a Hopewell stone effigy pipe, a Mogollon redware figure vessel and a Casas Grandes polychrome jar are among the Native American and Pre-Columbian highlights. - Other Day 2 items include a Mimbres fishbowl, a Salado polychrome bowl, Maori Whakawae door jambs, Egyptian antiquities, Japanese armor and sword material, a Greco-Roman limestone frieze fragment and a Neo-Babylonian clay tablet. - Outside-the-box lots also include a fossilized Nimravus skull, a royal charter from Henry III’s reign, a Campo del Cielo iron meteorite and an acrylic painting by Old Mick Wallankarri Tjakamarra. - Many Day 1 works are curated by Bob Dodge of Artemis Fine Arts and Howard Rose of Arte Primitivo. - The auction will be conducted on Artemis Fine Arts’ and Arte Primitivo’s native platforms, where buyer’s premiums are more favorable depending on payment method. - Arte Primitivo’s post-auction sale of unsold lots will revert to a timed format after the main sale. - Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo both offer worldwide shipping and in-house shipping departments. - Detailed catalog descriptions and photos are available online, and additional information is available by phone or email. - The bid page is available here.

Between the lines: - The sale mixes museum-level antiquities with eclectic natural-history and documentary material, a sign that both houses are leaning into breadth as well as depth. - The addition of Drouot widens exposure to European buyers and could increase competition on marquee lots. - The shift to sequential lot closing for the main auction brings a more traditional live-auction rhythm to an online event.

What’s next: - Bidders can continue placing absentee and protected online bids ahead of the June 11-12 sessions. - The main auction will run live online on both days, with the secondary unsold-lot sale following afterward through Arte Primitivo. - Dedicated specialists from both firms will be available by phone before, during and after the auction. - Collectors can review the full catalog and lot images online before the sale begins.

The bottom line: - Artemis Fine Arts and Arte Primitivo are using a multi-platform, online-only format to push a wide-ranging two-day sale built around standout antiquities, Spanish Colonial art and a handful of high-profile cross-category surprises.