Strauss & co - Review 2012

Despite the inclement weather which persisted throughout the preview and auction, collectors, neighbours, potential bidders, the curious, as well as art and history aficionados, poured into the warm and welcoming homestead by the hundred to admire its museum quality collection. Fierce bidding prevailed throughout all three sessions which took place in a packed marquee, with many lots selling way above their pre-sale estimates. Over 600 people attended this historic auction. The core of the collection was formed by a large selection of Cape furniture which was snapped up by collectors, agents and decorators alike as were the many Chinese and Japanese ceramics. The highest price paid was for a highly important 18th century Cape armoire sporting silver escutcheons by celebrated Cape silversmith Johan Hendrik Vos, which sold for R891 200, followed by a Cape stinkwood bible desk which sold for R579 280. The top lot of the auction was JH Pierneef’s Kameeldoring , Kalahari which sold for R946 900. An auction first: Ambassadorial introduction to Arab by Irma Stern Arab by Irma Stern was the star lot of our June auction in Johannesburg which sold for almost three times its pre-sale estimate. Painted during the artist’s first visit to Zanzibar in 1939, it had been in the same family since it was purchased directly from the artist by the owner’s mother over 70 years ago. The day before the sale, His Excellency Mr Khalid Ba’Omar, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, spotted the image in the Sunday Times . He identified the sitter as an Omani by his traditional dress. Zanzibar was still under the reign of an Omani Sultan – Seyyid Khalifa Bin Haroub in 1939 and before the auction started, he gave a brief introduction placing the sitter in his historical context. Two new senior paintings specialists on board Our paintings department, headed by Stephan Welz, features handpicked professionals whose knowledge and experience is difficult to match. They work in tandem to curate our sales around a rich variety of the highest quality works and the most coveted South African artists in order to serve our broad base of collectors in their quest to find the next iconic work. Their hard work and passion have attracted buyers from South Africa and abroad to our sales and have resulted in record prices and historic sales. Two respected and well known faces from the South African art scene, Phillippa Duncan and Ruarc Peffers joined the company in June as senior paintings specialists. They are based in the Johannesburg office and are both Michaelis BA Fine Art graduates and trained auctioneers. They bring with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Jewellery week with Joanna Hardy Strauss & Co hosted its traditional jewellery week for the third consecutive year with international jewellery guru and BBC Antiques Road Show jewellery expert, Joanna Hardy who educated, entertained and mesmerised our clients with her in depth knowledge of jewels. We also launched her book Collect Contemporary Jewelry . Looking ahead: Wits Art Museum Strauss & Co is delighted to confirm its involvement with the Wits Art Museum’s auction of Contemporary Art which takes place on 30 May 2013. Proceeds will benefit the museum for future acquisitions and educational programmes. Should you wish to contribute works for sale, please call Lesley Spiro on 011 717 1357. New sales venue in Johannesburg After three very happy years at the Woodmead Country Club Johannesburg, we have decided to move our sale venue to The Wanderers Club which is in the heart of Johannesburg, closer to our offices in Houghton and therefore more conveniently placed. We look forward to seeing you there for our inaugural sale which takes place on 20 May. We await our February auction with great anticipation as it features, once again, an outstanding array of fine and decorative arts. I wish our clients the very best for 2013 and thank you for your ongoing support. 1. Michael Coulson, South African Art Times , December 2012/January 2013, page 59. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 7