Strauss & co - 2019 Mid-year Review

The decorative arts have always been a substantial contributor to Strauss & Co’s bottom line. The tent-pole March sale in Cape Town once again proved the importance of this department. The catalogue included significant pieces from twoimportantsingle-ownercollections:the Dr J.R. and Mary Strong Collection and the Dr Johan Bolt Collection. The Strong Collection comprised an impressive selection of Chinese and Japanese ceramics and works of art. International bidders vied by telephone for the Chinese pieces. A celadon and beige jade two-handled vase with five-clawed dragon motifs from the late Qing dynasty sold for R227 600. A robin’s egg blue- glazed vase trounced the pre-sale estimate, achieving R136 560. A trio of Chinese snuff bottles, including a pink tourmaline one depicting a qilin (mythological hoofed creature), sold for R54 624. Single-owner collections lift decorative arts The Bolt Collection comprised important Cape furniture. A fine Southern Cape Neoclassical jonkmanskas from the early 19th century sold for R512 100. A rare south-western Cape Neoclassical settee, exhibited at the Gemeentemuseum in Den Haag in 2002, sold for R227 600. Bina Genovese said after the sale: “This sale further underscores Strauss & Co’s ability to handle top works from important single-owner collections. Our business is fundamentally about relationships. Consigning major collections such as these for auction takes years, often decades of dedicated commitment to a single client.” Vanessa Phillips, Strauss & Co’s joint managing director, first met Dr Strong in 1978. Her association with collectors Mavis and Louis Shill also goes back decades. These longstanding relationships with top-tier collectors are a hallmark of Strauss & Co’s business model, which emphasises provenance and quality. A Chinese pink tourmaline snuff bottle, a Chinese lapis lazuli snuff bottle, and a Chinese amethyst snuff bottle, late Qing Dynasty Sold R54 624 The Dr J.R. and Mary Strong Collection 29