Alberta museum scores aboriginal artifacts at auction

More than two dozen aboriginal artifacts from the mid-19th century are set to return to Western Canada after a last-minute effort by an Edmonton museum.

At Sotheby's auction of aboriginal art in New York on Monday, the Royal Alberta Museum acquired 29 of the 39 lots from the Southesk Collection,a gathering ofitemscollected in the mid-1800s by a Scottish earl during a visit to Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"We're thrilled," museum director Bruce McGillivray told CBC News on Tuesday morning. "Almost all of the pieces have this direct connection to Alberta or Western Canadianhistory."

Museum officials bid by phone from Edmontonand placed winning bids on a range of items, including paying more than double the estimated high price for a highly sought-after beaded hide dress.

The auction house had estimated the Upper Missouri River beaded hide dress
to sell for up to $225,000 US. The museum paid $497,600 US (including buyer's premium).

While the other items were not as expensive, and appear much more plain, the museum is just as thrilled with them, McGillivray added.

"One was a knife and a knife sheath. Although it looks nice, it's not extraordinary orspectacular but it's from Fort Edmonton and it's got a very particular story," he said.

"To me, to have an object from our fort, from 150 years ago we have very little from this time period that's the true value."

The auction also set a record for the highest price ever paid for an American Indian art object, according to Sotheby's.An Upper Missouri River man's quilled and pony beaded hide shirt also from the Southesk Collection sold to an unnamed, private collector for $800,000 US.

Earl kept careful journal

Overall, the museum spent about $1.1 million at the auction for the rare historical artifacts, which were collected during an 1859 trip to Canada by James Carnegie, Scotland's ninth Earl of Southesk.

The collection of western Canadian items was particularly coveted because the earl had meticulously jotted down in his journal details about the pieces, their origins and how he got them. The collection remained in Carnegie's family buthis descendants recently decided to put the items on the auction block.

Last week, the Royal Alberta Museum spearheaded a campaign to purchase as many pieces of the collection as possible. It drew from its budget and, along with money from theprovincial government, came up with $500,000. On Friday, the federal government added $600,000 to the purse.

"Aboriginal objects of this age are exceedingly rare," the museum said in a statement Monday. "An entire suite of such objects stunningly beautiful, impressively documented and carefully preservedis truly remarkable."

The 214 lots on sale at Monday's auction fetched a total of $4.5 million US.

Musuem had aboriginal support

The museum began its last-minute campaign for the collection because of fears the rare and historic pieces could be dispersed among private collectors and institutions worldwide.

The American Indian Movement, a Minneapolis-based lobby group,also shared these fears and sought to block the sale and procure the return of these and similar items to aboriginal groups. Last week, it likened the sale to the Nazis theft of artwork from Jewish families.

However, the Royal Alberta Museum had the support of native groups in Canada.

"We got many, many letters of support from aboriginal communities, aboriginal leaders, Mtis and First Nations, and from university scholars who said, 'We need to have this collection,'" McGillivray said.

"That support was invaluable in convincing Ottawa."