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The Late Bill Evans Collection, Sydney
Lot 46
Maker UnknownA shieldWestern Queensland height: 60.5cm
Amended
27 August 2025, 14:00 AEST
SydneySold for AU$4,305 inc. premium
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Alex Clark
Head of Sale, Senior Specialist
Merryn Schriever
Managing Director, Australia
Maker Unknown, A shield
Western Queensland
natural earth pigments on wood
height: 60.5cm
natural earth pigments on wood
height: 60.5cm
Footnotes
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Melbourne
Collection of the Late Bill Evans, Sydney
Saleroom notices
BILL EVANS BIOGRAPHY
Renowned Sydney antique rug and tribal art dealer, Bill Evans, was born in Minneapolis in 1946. After graduating magna cum laude in History from the University of Minnesota, Bill's interest in the history and cultures of the world inspired him to travel widely in his 20s, visiting Thailand, Bali, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan where he would live for four years. It was here that his love and knowledge of the rugs from this region was born and would develop into his future business.
Following a trip to Australia, Bill decided to make Sydney his next home, opening the Caspian Gallery on Oxford Street, Paddington, in the early 1980s, dealing in exceptional antique rugs. The business naturally broadened to include Oceanic, Asian and tribal art and artefacts thanks to the interests he developed through the relationships he built with enthusiastic collectors and scholars in the field. He became a respected and leading dealer and expert, corresponding with international dealers, collectors and academics on these subjects and selling to important private collections and public institutions around the world. Bill was a founding member of the Oceanic Art Society which was established in 1996 and became the Australian representative of international publication, Tribal Art magazine.
Throughout his career Bill would build his own exceptional personal collection of antique rugs, textiles and artefacts, acquiring and deaccessioning items to refine and develop the collection over time, eventually focusing particularly on shields from New Guinea, Borneo, south-east Asia and Australia. In 2019 he published the magnificent two-volume War Art & Ritual: Shields from the Pacific centred around his museum-quality collection, with essays and contributions from some of the most respected curators and experts in the field.