Strauss & co - Review 2018

Pedigree of Single-Owner Collections Many of the key lots detailed in this report came from single- owner collections. These collections are a cornerstone of Strauss & Co’s business. No matter their particular focus – be it South African paintings, Chinese ceramics, Cape furniture, period jewellery or mid-century Johannesburg sculpture – these painstakingly assembled collections are distinguished by the extraordinary passion and connoisseurship of their owners. Buyers know this. This is why appetite for works from single-owner collections remains a constant of the auction business, even in straitened times. Since 2009, when the Leslie Milner Collection went under the hammer, Strauss & Co has assisted in the sale of dozens of important private collections. The year under review witnessed the disposal of a number of important single-owner collections. Following on the sale of Chinese jade carvings and snuff bottles, Strauss & Co concluded another sale in October when all 20 lots from the Namibia-based collection of Peter and Regina Strack found buyers. One of the most important and comprehensive Ivon Hitchens, Felled Trees Sold R614 520, 15 October 2018 Labia Family Collection collections of early Namibian art, the Strack Collection included important works by painters Adolph Jentsch and Fritz Krampe. The Strack sale of Krampe’s double-sided painting Village Scene with Woman Smoking Pipe/Fishing Boat (1958) for R682 800 established a new world record for the artist. “I very much doubt we will see another single-owner collection of this calibre representing Namibian art anytime soon,” noted Bina Genovese, Strauss & Co’s joint managing director. Strauss & Co was proud to offer a consignment of works from the Labia Family Collection. Along with Stern’s museum-quality still life, Dahlias (1947), the consignment included important works by Ivon Hitchens and Pieter Wenning. The consignment achieved a total of R11 600 000. Single-owner consignments come in vastly different shapes and sizes. In 2012, Strauss & Co disposed of the contents of Keerwerder in the Franschhoek Valley. This sale, which included fine art, furniture, collectables andhouseholdobjects, required a dedicated catalogue for the 622 lots on offer and earned R9 500 000. 28