Strauss & co - 13 October 2014, Cape Town

120 409 410 PROPERTY OF A CONSERVATOR | LOTS 409-429 In 1960 Hannes Zaaiman set sail for Italy having been awarded a cultural bursary from the Italian Government to study at the Universitá per Stranieri in Perugia. So began an unforgettable period in his life, from the moment he first cast eyes on the city of Venice floating above the mist as the Europa sailed into port. The only South African among students from 123 countries, he was ill-prepared for the mind shift awaiting him in Italy and the lasting visual and emotional effects that exposure to the culture of Florence, Rome, Siena and Assisi, and the music of Milan, would have on him. On his return to Cape Town, having realised the importance of cultural conservation, in the fifty years that followed he devoted himself to this end and has never deviated from this unwritten commitment. It is for this reason that he regards himself primarily as a conservator and secondly a collector. The first of many projects he tackled was the restoration of two slave cottages dating back to the time of Sir George Grey that were in a sad state of repair in Oranjezicht, Cape Town. It was here and in the adjoining property that he established his first antique shop and a workshop for the restoration of country pieces of Africana. His passion for the restoration of early cottages and period buildings continued after his move to Franschhoek where he was instrumental in preserving the character of this historic village. In the first cottage he purchased he discovered a Lawton copper iron hidden in a coffin in the loft, which he later sold for more than he had paid for the cottage. He went on to purchase and restore the old forge and a number of defunct stables nearby, where he developed a complex of small shops including Cape and Country Antiques, a popular tourist attraction. Thirty years ago, Hannes purchased the farm, Klipfontein, near Stilbaai, which was totally overgrown with alien vegetation. Today it is a private Nature Reserve, featuring all the ecosystems of the Southern Cape. He was constantly amazed by the incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail so apparent in some of the Cape country furniture and, over the years, he kept some pieces to enjoy in his own home, for example, the demi-lune table originating from the Calitzdorp/Oudtshoorn area (lot 410) and his own particular favourite, the late 18th/early 19th century yellowwood and stinkwood cupboard (lot 411).