NEW YORK.- On May 13, 2005, Sotheby's sale of American Indian Art will feature a rare and important collection of early Woodlands Indian artifacts from the Farquharson Collection, belonging to a family whose ancestral roots lie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Collection was originally in the Invercauld House, home of the Farquharson family for over five hundred years, and was subsequently moved to nearby Braemar Castle, a fortress transformed into their residence, where it had been on display for the public for over twenty years. Acquired through the family's eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Scottish Military connections with Northeastern North America, the offering consists of moccasins, belts, garters, pouches, a canoe and a number of smaller pieces. Original documentation accompanies the material, and this rare and unusual association enhances the collection's importance, adding to the knowledge of the age, provenance and range of Native American objects from this period, and additionally, an essay entitled "A Casket of Savage Curiosities" by noted scholar Ruth Phillips sheds light upon the military conflicts that coincide with personal affairs in the Farquharson family. Comprised of outstanding examples of early bead and quillwork, it is among the earliest known field collections in existence. The Collection will be on exhibition in Sotheby's sixth floor gallery from May 7 - 12 and is expected to bring $300/500,000.

David Roche, Sotheby's specialist of American Indian Art, said: "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer the Farquharson Collection. A collection of this caliber has not been offered at auction in more than twenty years, since Sotheby's held the landmark sale of the Messiter Collection in 1982 where record prices were paid for similar pieces, bringing a whole new visibility to American Indian Art in the marketplace."

From the Farquharson offering is a cross-section of Northeastern and Great Lakes material, including a Great Lakes Pouch, decorated with horse hair (est. $70/100,000), a Great Lakes Stone Pipe and Steam, Ojibwa with red, blue, brown and white bands (est. $40/60,000) and a Great Lakes Sash (pictured below, est. $30/50,000).