From private and previously unseen collections
Historical art from Africa and Oceania - works that have an enthralling effect
Auction in Würzburg:
Saturday, 11 November 2023 – 2 pm (CET)
Previews in Munich and Würzburg:
Paul Gallery, Weissenburger Street 22, 81667 Munich
4 November from 2 pm to 9 pm
5 November from 11 am to 5 pm
Auction house, Würzburg
8 until 10 November from 10 am to 5 pm
It is one of the most edifying moments to track down artifacts that are still completely in their original condition, completely untouched by the European zeitgeist, as if they had just been unpacked from their suitcase after almost 100 years. Its significance lies precisely in the fact that the original character does not change - a peculiarity that undoubtedly comes closest to the actual essence of collecting. And it‘s even more exciting when they‘re also elaborately and artistically crafted.
All of this applies to the artistic masterworks from the South Seas and Oceania. Among them a small collection with exhibits from the 19th century [lots 27-51]. All that is known about their collector, Hellmut Patzer, is that he comes from Silesia (Poland) and brought the pieces to Europe on trips to Australia and the South Seas in the first half of the 20th century.
- Austral Islands
Paddle "hoe"
ProvenanceHellmut Patzer, Silesia, Poland (acquired in the 1st half of the 20th century) - New Zealand, Maori
Hand club "patu onewa"
ProvenanceHellmut Patzer, Silesia, Poland (acquired in the 1st half of the 20th century) - New Zealand, Maori
Treasure box "waka huia"
ProvenanceHellmut Patzer, Silesia, Poland (acquired in the 1st half of the 20th century)
Malagan figures from New Ireland are among the most artistic sculptures in Oceania. Works that - like Pacific art in general - are highly valued by collectors and artists alike because of their incredibly imaginative creativity.
The Collection of Alexander Kubetz, Munich (1946-2023) [lots 56-97] has three superb carvings of these memorial figures for the dead, and lot 59 is a former museum piece that was sold in 1917 by the German Colonial Museum Berlin-Moabit (1899 - 1915) to the Linden Museum Stuttgart.
Alexander Kubetz‘s enthusiasm for art and his beginnings for collecting lie in Papua New Guinea and the South Sea Islands. He only came to the art of Africa, the masks and figures, especially the artistic shields and weapons, many years later through his long-standing friendship with Manfred A. Zirngibl.
Pieces from his collection were shown in exhibitions such as „Erde und Erz - 2500 Jahre afrikanische Kunst aus Terrakotta und Metall“ (“Earth and Ore - 2500 years of African Art in Terracotta and Metal”) (1998) and several times in various exhibitions at the Haus der Völker in Schwaz/Tirol (1996, 2006/2007 and 2009).
- Papua New Guinea - Bismarck Archipelago - New Ireland
"Malagan" figure
ProvenanceDeutsches Kolonialmuseum, Berlin, Germany (pre 1915) Lindenmuseum, Stuttgart, Germany (Inventory no. 103067, acquisition date 28.03.1917) Alexander Kubetz (1946-2023), Munich, Germany - Papua New Guinea - Bismarck Archipelago - New Ireland
"Malagan" figure
ProvenanceAlexander Kubetz (1946-2023), Munich, Germany - Papua New Guinea - Bismarck Archipelago - New Ireland
"Malagan" figure
ProvenanceAlexander Kubetz (1946-2023), Munich, Germany
After 2017, it is a pleasure for us to be able to auction the second part of the Africa collection of Francfort artist Bernhard Jäger (Lots 106-173). More about his collection, see auction catalogue 86, 2017.
For him as an artist, the works of Africa are self-assurance that “the path I follow in my work is right.”
More recognition for African art is not possible.
- Nigeria, Yoruba, Igbomina, Ajasse
Seated female shrine figure
ProvenanceIngo Evers, Bonn, Germany Bernhard Jäger, Frankfurt a. M., Germany - D. R. Congo, Lega
Mask "lukwakongo" with beard
ProvenancePeter Loebarth, Hameln, Germany (2000) Bernhard Jäger, Frankfurt a. M., Germany - D. R. Congo, Lulua (Luluwa)
Male-female Janus figure
ProvenanceBernhard Jäger, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
With lots 174 -190 we present a small collection of 17 works, primarily masks from Mali, Liberia, Ivory Coast and the Congo, belonging to the estate of Justin Barthels (1934-2021), art historian, collector and dealer from Maastricht, Netherlands.
- Côte d'Ivoire / Mali, border region, Senufo
Anthropomorphic mask / headdress
ProvenanceJustin Barthels, Maastricht, The Netherlands - D. R. Congo, Ubangi, northwestern Congo, Ngbaka (Mbaka) or neighbouring groups
Anthropomorphic mask with nose plug
ProvenanceJustin Barthels, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Charles Courtin (d. 1954, Antwerp, Belgium) stayed in the Congo from 1904 to 1908. During this period, he created etchings that primarily document the elaborate scarification and hairstyles of the local population. A small Congo collection of miniature works as well as weapons and spears date from this period [lots 311-317].
- D. R. Congo, Luba
Figural pendant "mikisi mihasi"
ProvenanceCharles Courtin (✝ 1954), Antwerp, Belgium - D. R. Congo, Kuba-Bushoong
Face mask "ngady amwaash"
ProvenanceCharles Courtin (✝ 1954), Antwerp, Belgium Courtin stayed in the Congo from 1904 to 1908. During this period, he created etchings that primarily document the elaborate scarification and hairstyles of the local population.
From the mid-1970s, Dietrich von Reininghaus, Munich **(1918-1993)**regularly undertook extensive trips to the Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Algeria, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Sudan and Chad. He developed a strong passion for collecting the art objects of the local culture. He paid the greatest attention to original pieces of jewellery that were, if possible, also worn.
His collection includes more than 500 jewellery objects from the Berber peoples and Tuareg. The collection contains some outstanding Moroccan and Algerian objects that can hardly be found in this quality today. According to the documentation, a significant part of the Tuareg jewellery was acquired through Gerhard Göttler. Göttler, travel writer, Tuareg connoisseur and collector himself, was the lender and author of the catalogue text for the exhibition “Magische Ornamente, Silberschmuck der Tuareg”, 2003 in the Rietberg Museum, Zurich. This catalogue also serves as a reference to the von Reininghaus objects. A study of this catalogue shows that the works on offer consistently corresponds to the same high quality level of the exhibition.
The Reininghaus Tuareg Collection can be described as „museum quality“ in the full sense of the word, when one takes into consideration the scope, diversity and relevance of the collection objects for the material culture of an ethnic group. [Wofgang Raffesberg, author and expert]
- Morocco, Rif, Nador / Melilla
Pair of fibulas with large central pendant
ProvenanceDietrich von Reininghaus (1918-1993), Munich, Germany - Morocco, Middle Atlas or Meknès
Pair of fibulas on chain
ProvenanceDietrich von Reininghaus (1918-1993), Munich, Germany - Morocco, Western Anti-Atlas
Necklace with coins
ProvenanceDietrich von Reininghaus (1918-1993), Munich, Germany
