Abel Grimmer, (ca. 1570 Antwerp 1620), Five Allegories of the months of February, March, April, October and December . Oil on panel. Diameter of each 25 cm. Estimate CHF 500 000 / 700 000. Photo Koller.
ZURICH.- Museum-quality artworks will come to auction during the September sales at Koller Zurich. A rare Renaissance panel depicting Venus and Cupid by Paolo Schiavo was formerly in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, and later was shown in the exhibition “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Two still lifes by Georg Flegel and Isaac Soreau were also part of a major exhibition, “Die Magie der Dinge” (The Magic of Things) in Basel and Frankfurt in 2008-2009, and several faïence pieces to be offered have been featured in museum exhibitions in Cologne and Düsseldorf. One of the highlights of the furniture auction is an upright piano made for Baron James de Rothschild.
Old Master Paintings
Rare Dutch still lifes and allegories, and an important work from the Italian Renaissance
Suites of allegorical paintings representing the months of the year by Antwerp master Abel Grimmer (ca. 1570 – ca. 1620) are seldom seen on the market. Only three complete series of the twelve months by Grimmer are known to exist, and the set of five to be offered by Koller – comprising February, March, April, October and December – would form a nearly complete suite if combined with one recently sold on the French market (only November would be missing). Conserved in the same family for over 300 years, the five works will be offered on 23 September with a combined estimate of CHF 500 000 – 700 000 (lots 3033A – 3033E).
Lot 3033A. Abel Grimmer, (ca. 1570 Antwerp 1620), Allegory of February. Oil on wood. Diameter 25 cm. Inscribed lower center, signed and dated: MARC 1.1. ABEL GRIMMER FECIT 1609 and inscribed: ABEL GRIMMER 1609 and with a red wax seal. Estimate CHF 90 000/140 000 (€ 83,330 / 129,630). Photo Koller
Provenance: - Collection family Drouhot, Villersexel, probably first half of 17th century
- Through inheritance, collection Claude Drouhot (1907-2006)
- European private collection
Notes: This over several generations in a French family-owned and recently rediscovered five months depictions of Abel Grimmer ( lots 3033A, 3033B, 3033C, 3033D and 3033E), belong to a 1609 dated group of twelve months, which were like our recently auctioned on the art market six from the same collection and with the same old framing. These are the months of January, May, June, July and August are, so only the month of November of this series is still missing today.
A total of only three complete series of the twelve months of Abel Grimmer are known. A 1592 episode painted rectangular format, which is now in the church Notre-Dame de Montfaucon and also performed 1592 Tondo group from the former collection Castle (scattered today) and finally one from the art trade in 1599 known dated series. Even in the latter case, the paintings are with the Bible verse that illustrates the kind of scene, referred to (see Bertier de Sauvigny, Reine de Jacob et Abel Grimmer, Brussels 1991, pp 190-197). It follows the artist the tradition of the medieval calendar, which sat for every season and every month the activities of farmers with their parables from the Bible in connection. Here Abel Grimmer grabbed partly due to bites by Adriaen Collaert (1560-1618) after compositions by Hans Bols (1534-1593).
As a son of the famous landscape painter Jacob Grimmer (see also item 3024) learned Abel Grimmer the Malerhandwerk in his father's workshop , The artist, who was also an architect, it developed his own style of painting, which is on the one hand characterized by a simplification of lines, pure compositions and very clear contours and on the other hand has a particularly fine color and finesse in the reproduction of materiality, which in the We offer you high-quality and extremely rare five Montas representations particularly well expressed.
Lot 3033B. Abel Grimmer, (ca. 1570 Antwerp 1620), Allegory of March. Oil on wood. Diameter 25 cm. Lower center called: MATT. 21 and inscribed: MARS Abel Grimmer. 1609 and with a red wax seal. Estimate CHF 90 000/140 000 (€ 83,330 / 129,630). Photo Koller
Lot 3033C. Abel Grimmer, (ca. 1570 Antwerp 1620), Allegory of April. Oil on wood. Diameter 25 cm. Bottom right referred: LUC. 8 and inscribed: AVRIL ABEL GRIMMER. 1609 and with a red wax seal. Estimate CHF 90 000/140 000 (€ 83,330 / 129,630). Photo Koller
Lot 3033D. Abel Grimmer, (ca. 1570 Antwerp 1620), Allegory of October. Oil on wood. Diameter 25 cm. Lower center called: MATT.21 and inscribed verso: OCTOBRE Abel Grimmer. 1609 and with a red wax seal. Estimate CHF 90 000/140 000 (€ 83,330 / 129,630). Photo Koller
Lot 3033D. Abel Grimmer, (ca. 1570 Antwerp 1620), Allegory of December. Oil on wood. Diameter 25 cm. referred Bottom left: LUC. 2. and signed lower right and dated: ABEL GRIMMER FECIT 1609 and inscribed verso: DÉCEMBRE ABEL GRIMMER.1609 and with a red wax seal and the label probably the framer "Bonvoisin, Maître Peintre Doreur & Marchand de Tableaux. Place du Vieux Louvre". Estimate CHF 90 000/140 000 (€ 83,330 / 129,630). Photo Koller
A still life by Dutch artist Pieter Claesz. (Berchem/Antwerp 1597–1661 Haarlem) features not only food and drink but smoking paraphernalia, an element introduced by the artist to Dutch still life painting in the 1620s. This beautiful work painted in monochrome tonalities was chosen by Dr. Martina Brunner-Bulst as the frontispiece to her catalogue raisonné on Claesz, thus underlining the importance of this painting within the artist’s oeuvre (lot 3046, CHF 500 000 – 700 000).
Lot 3046. Pieter Claesz. (Berchem/Antwerp 1597–1661 Haarlem), Still life with smoker’s requisites, a large pewter flagon, a stoneware pitcher on its side, a beer glass and a herring, 1627. Oil on panel. Monogrammed and dated lower left: PC A 1627; 50.2 x 74.6 cm. Estimate CHF 500 000 / 700 000 (€ 462 960 / 648 150). Photo Koller.
Provenance: - E. Slatter Gallery, London, 1943.
- Otto Wertheimer collection, Paris, 1952.
- Mitchell Gallery, London 1957.
- Private collection, London.
- Galerie Weil, 1960.
- Private collection, Switzerland.
- Kunsthandel Böhler, Munich, 1966.
- Kunsthandel Scheidwimmer, Munich, 1973.
- Private collection, Paris, 1990.
- Auction Christie's, London, 23 April 1993, lot 182.
- J. M. B. Guttmann Gallery, Los Angeles, 1994.
- European private collection.
Exhibited: - London, E. Slatter Gallery, 1943, Flower and Still-Life Paintings by Dutch and Flemish Masters of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century.
- Paris, Galerie A. Weil, April/May 1960, La nature morte et son inspiration, no. 12 with ill.
- Paris, Institut Néerlandais, 1965, Le décor de la vie privée en Hollande au XVIIe siècle, no. 13.
with ill.
- Munich, Kunsthandel Böhler, June 1966, no. 4 with ill.
Literature: - Exh. Cat. Le décor de la vie privée en Hollande au XVIIe siècle, Institut Néerlandais, Paris 1965, p. 25, no. 13, pl. 4.
- Brunner-Bulst, Martina: Pieter Claesz. Der Hauptmeister des Haarlemer Stillebens im 17. Jahrhundert. Kritischer Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen 2004, no. 29, p. 220, with ill. and on frontispiece.
Notes: Haarlem was among the most important art centres in Holland during the early 17th century. Many artists emigrated from Flanders to the Netherlands at this time, whether because of their Protestant beliefs or due to the poor economic climate there, attracted by the commercial prosperity and growing affluence of the Dutch, particularly in Haarlem. Along with textile manufacturers, breweries were especially successful, and beer was the most common drink, since drinking water was often contaminated at this time. The favourable economic conditions stimulated the rise of a prosperous middle class in Haarlem, ultimately creating a significant consumer base for the arts.
Into this society Pieter Claesz. settled in 1620-22. Born in Berchem near Antwerp in 1597, Claesz. was almost certainly trained as an artist within the circles of the Antwerp still life painters Osias Beert (ca. 1580-1623) and Clara Peeters (active 1607-1621 or later), and the influence of their work is evident in his early paintings. Once in Haarlem, his work began to show the influence of the older generation of still life painters there, such as Floris van Dijck (1575-1651), Nicolaes Gillis (ca. 1575/80 – after 1632) and Floris van Schooten (ca. 1580-1656).
Banketje still lifes, which typically depict a meal amidst an arrangement of tableware, were a speciality of Netherlandish painting during the Golden Age, particularly in Haarlem, and were in great demand during the 17th century. The large museum-quality work offered here, which has not been available for public viewing for quite some time, belongs to this category. It is also of the toebackje, or smoking requisites variant, and this paraphernalia is depicted alongside a large pewter flagon on a plate, a knopped beer glass, a sliced herring, bread and a knife, all arranged on a table. Particularly interesting is the monochrome tonality of this work, composed primarily of brown and grey tones and uniquely articulated through dramatically staged light. This reduced palette is a particular characteristic of Claesz.’s Haarlem still lifes. The depiction of the smoker’s requisites is considered to be an artistic invention of Claesz.’s, as these motifs first appeared in his work as early as 1622 (Brunner-Bulst, ibid., no. 4, pp. 207-208).
The combination of smoking requisites with the eating utensils of a banketjes still life, as in the present work, appears in two other smaller-format works by Claesz. from 1627: one is presently in San Diego’s Timken Art Gallery (36.2 x 57.5 cm, oil on panel, ibid. no. 28), and the other (the composition of which also includes onions) is in a private collection (ibid., no. 30, 37.5 x 47.5 cm, oil on panel).
Dr. Martina Brunner-Bulst, who has examined the present work in the original, selected it to illustrate the frontispiece of her catalogue raisonné on Pieter Claesz., thus eloquently expressing the importance of this work within the artist’s oeuvre.
Among the series of striking works from the Italian Renaissance to be offered by artists such as Tommaso di Credi, Giuliano di Amadeo, and Andrea Manzini (known as Andrea di Giusto), one rare and beautiful panel is particularly outstanding: a reclining Venus with Cupid in a landscape by Paolo Schiavo. Formerly in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, it was later included in the exhibition “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Dating from the beginning of the Italian Renaissance, circa 1440-45, its original function was as an interior panel of a marriage coffer, or cassone, made to hold a bride’s trousseau, of which relatively few survive today (CHF 250 000 – 350 000).
Lot 3013. Paolo di Stefano Badaloni known as Paolo Schiavo ((Florence 1397 - 1478 Pisa), Venus and Cupid, circa 1440 - 45. Tempera on panel, 50.8 x 170 cm. Estimate CHF 250 000 / 350 000 (€ 231 480 / 324 070). Photo Koller.
Provenance: - Collection of L. Grassi, Florence, circa 1971.
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1972-1992, Inv. No. 72.PB.9 (label verso).
- Christie's, New York, 21.5.1992.
- Museo Privato Bellini, Florencez (label verso “Mr. Luigi Bellini”).
- European private collection.
Exhibited: - Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 11.11.2008-16.2.2009, Nor. 58b (label verso).
- Doni d'amore. Donne e rituali nel Rinascimento, Pinacoteca cantonale Giovanni Züst, Rancate (Mendrisio), 12.10.2014-11.1.2015, No. 31.
Literature: - Callmann, Ellen: Un Apollonio di Giovanni per cassone nuziale, in: Burlington Magazine, Nr. 888, Vol. CXLX, March 1977, p. 178.
- Boskovits, Miklos: Ancora su Paolo Schiavo. Una scheda biografica, in: Arte Cristiana, 1995, No. 770, pp. 332-340.
- Bayer, Andre / Cartwright, Sarah: Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2009, No. 58b, pp. 134-136.
- Lurati, Patricia: Doni d'amore. Donne e rituali nel Rinascimento, Pinacoteca cantonale Giovanni Züst, Rancate (Mendrisio), 12.10.2014-11.1.2015, No. 31, pp. 100-101.
The Schmitz-Eichhoff Collection
Important old masters and wonderful trompe l'oeil ceramics
Koller auctions will offer the collection of Marie Teres Schmitz-Eichhoff on 19 and 23 September. The Cologne collector’s sharp and discerning eye was eclectic, but the core of her collection consisted of old master paintings and drawings, and Baroque trompe l’oeil faience.
Several important old master paintings from the Schmitz-Eichhoff collection have figured in notable exhibitions, including works by Georg Flegel (Olmütz 1566–1638 Frankfurt) and Isaac Soreau (ca. 1604 Hanau 1645). These characteristic paintings were included in the exhibition “Die Magie der Dinge” (The Magic of Things) in Basel and Frankfurt in 2008-2009. Georg Flegel is one of the most important German still life painters from the first half of the 17th century, and his work is distinguished by a wide variety of details and motifs rendered with painterly precision. The fine-quality, colourful still life of strawberries, walnuts, bread, butter and wine to be offered on 23 September will be offered with an estimate of CHF 150 000 – 250 000 (lot 3023). The composition of another still life with fruits and vegetables by Hanau artist Isaac Soreau is marked by a systematic overlapping and staggering of the individual elements, providing the viewer with a unique chromatic experience (lot 3019, CHF 150,000 – 250,000).
Lot 3023. Georg Flegel (Olmütz 1563 - 1638 Frankfurt a. M.), Still life with strawberries, walnuts, bread, butter and wine. Oil on panel, 22.8 x 37.6 cm. Estimate CHF 150 000 / 250 000 (€ 138 890 / 231 480). Photo Koller.
Expertise: - Fred G. Meijer, 7.1.1999 (copy available).
- Sam Segal, 19.3.1999 (copy available).
- Dr. Anna-Dore Ketelsen-Volkhardt, 28.7.2001.
Provenance: - Kunsthaus P. Gölitz, Augsburg, December 1990.
- Christie's, London, 24.4.1998, Lot 56.
- Newhouse Gallery, New York / Amell Gallery, London, exhibited at TEFAF, Maastricht, March 1999.
- Galerie Neuse, Bremen, 1999.
- Schmitz-Eichhoff collection, Cologne.
Exhibited: "Die Magie der Dinge, Stilllebenmalerei 1500-1800", Städel-Museum, Frankfurt, 20.3.-17.8.2008 and Kunstmuseum Basel, 5.9.2008-4.1.2009, No. 36 (label verso).
Literature: - Ketelsen-Volkhardt, Anne-Dore: Georg Flegel, 1566-1638, München/Berlin 2003, Cat. No. 23, fig. 73, pp. 206-207.
- Exh. Cat. "Die Magie der Dinge, Stilllebenmalerei 1500-1800", Städel-Museum, Frankfurt, 20.3.-17.8.2008 and Kunstmuseum Basel, 5.9.2008–4.1.2009, No. 36, pp. 128-129.
Lot 3019. Isaac Soreau ((1604 Hanau am Main circa 1645), Still life with fruits and vegetables in a basket. Oil on panel, 40.5 x 51.4 cm. Estimate CHF 150 000 / 250 000 (€ 138 890 / 231 480). Photo Koller.
Provenance: - Sotheby’s, London, 8.7.1992, Lot 15 (as Jakob van Hulsdonck, with an additional attribution to Isaac Soreau by Fred G. Meijer).
- Galerie Edel, Maastricht, TEFAF 1993.
- Galerie Virginie Pitchal, Paris, 1998.
- Schmitz-Eichhoff collection, Cologne.
Exhibited: - Kulturstiftung Ruhr-Essen, Das Flämische Stillleben 1550 –1680, 2002, No. 84a.
- Die Magie der Dinge, Stilllebenmalerei 1500-1800, Städel-Museum, Frankfurt, 20 3.–17.8.2008 and Kunstmuseum Basel, 5.9.2008–4.1.2009, No. 30.
Literature: - Bott, Gerhard: Die Stilllebenmaler Soreau, Binoit, Codino and Marrell in Hanau und Frankfurt 1600-1650, Hanau 2001, Cat. No. IS.48, with ill. p. 110, No. 91.
- Exh. Cat. Kulturstiftung Ruhr-Essen, Das Flämische Stillleben 1550 –1680, 2002, p. 84, Cat. No. 84a, p. 84.
- Exh. Cat. Die Magie der Dinge, Stilllebenmalerei 1500-1800, Städel-Museum, Frankfurt, 20 3.–17.8.2008 and Kunstmuseum Basel, 5.9.2008–4.1.2009, Cat. No. 30, p. 112.
Our thanks to Dr. Fred G. Meijer of RKD, The Hague, who has confirmed the authenticity of the work having examined it in the original.
Among the old master drawings in the collection are a series of watercolours depicting tulips from the early 17th century. These exquisite works became important during the Tulip Mania speculation bubble in Holland, which saw prices for single tulip bulbs sharply rise to the point where they sometimes cost as much as an Amsterdam town house (see full article here). Precise documentation of what buyers were purchasing became essential, giving rise to watercolours such as these – the ancestors of modern day gardening catalogues (lots 3426–27 and 3435–39).
The most original and playful element of the Schmitz-Eichhof collection is certainly the group of approximately 250 faience trompe-l’oeil wares and animal figures from the 18th century. The catalogue contains one whimsical surprise after another: cabbage-form tureens, covered dishes in the shape of bundles of asparagus, and plates with eggs, beans and nuts. Many of these items were the subject of an exhibition in 1999 in the Museum of Decorative Arts (MAK) in Cologne, and again at the Hetjens Museum in Düsseldorf in 2006.
The Baroque period was a time of opulent feasts, as the European upper classes attempted to outdo one another in everything regarding fashion, including extravagant table settings. Trompe-l’oeil ceramics were among the highlights of such table settings, and dinner guests greatly enjoyed seeing platters decorated with faux vegetables and fruit, casseroles in the form of cabbage heads, and animal-shaped bowls for pastries and ragouts. Among the highlights of the collection are a mid-18th century French trompe-l’oeil platter with eggs (lot 1751, CHF 4 000 – 6 000); a pair of mid-18th century Delft blackberry jam terrines (lot 1729, CHF 3 000 – 5 000) and a large mid-18th century cabbage-shaped terrine, Brussels, Philippe Mombaers (lot 1742, CHF 6 000 – 8 000).
Lot 1751. Trompe-l’oeil plate with eggs, Northern France, mid-18th century. Estimate CHF 4 000 / 6 000 (€ 3 700 / 5 560). Photo Koller.
Faience with applied eggs, painted yellow. No mark. D 22.5 cm.
Provenance: - Schmitz-Eichhoff Collection, Cologne.
Literature: Köllmann/Reineking/Schmitz-Eichhoff, Sammlung Europäischer Fayencen des 17. bis 19. Jahrhunderts, Cologne 1991, No. 201.
Exhibitions: - Cologne, Museum für Angewandte Kunst, 1999, figure on page 17.
- Expo 2000, “foodpavillion, pavilion projects: egg dream museum”, figure 1, food culture
- Düsseldorf, Hetjens-Museum 2006.
- Wallraf-Richartz-Museum Fondation Corboud Köln, „Tierschau“ 2007, Exhibition catalogue, illustration on page 98.
Lot 1729. Pair of Delft blackberry jam terrines, Delft, mid-18th century. Estimate CHF 3 000 / 5 000 (€ 3 700 / 5 560). Photo Koller.
Faience, colorfully painted. Both lids designed as blackberries. Marks 1 and 2 in blue on the inside of the cover and the dish. H 12 cm. Restored. (4)
Provenance: - Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, October 1977.
- Schmitz-Eichhoff Collection, Cologne.
Literature: Köllmann/Reineking/Schmitz-Eichhoff, Sammlung Europäischer Fayencen des 17. bis 19. Jahrhunderts, Cologne 1991, No. 53.
Exhibitions: - Museum für Angewandte Kunst (MAK) Köln, „Fayence aus Europa, Kölner Sammler stellen aus“, 9 May - 11 July 1999.
- Hetjens-Museum Düsseldorf, “Imitationen, Irritationen, Illusionen”, Keramik als Augentäuscher, 22 September - 30 December 2006.
Lot 1742. Large cabbage-shaped terrine, Brussels, Philippe Mombaers, 18th century. Estimate CHF 6 000 / 8 000 (€ 5 560 / 7 410). Photo Koller.
Faience, colorfully painted in turquoise, green and manganese. No mark. D 34 cm. Slightly restored.
Provenance: - Schmitz-Eichhoff Collection, Cologne.
Exhibition: Museum für Angewandte Kunst (MAK) Köln, "Fayence aus Europa, Kölner Sammler stellen aus", 9 May - 11 July 1999.
Furniture, Carpets & Sculpture
A piano for Baron James de Rothschild
The furniture auction on 22 September features an upright piano “aux sphinges ailées” created by a trio of the finest master craftsmen of the 19th century (lot 1293, CHF 150 000 – 250 000). Commissioned in 1836 by Baron James de Rothschild for his luxurious townhouse on the Rue Laffitte in Paris, the mechanism was created by royal piano maker and composer Ignace Pleyel (Ruppersthal 1757-1831 Paris), the case finished in brass “Boulle” marquetery on ebony by the cabinetmaker to the royal family, Alexandre Bellangé (1799 Paris 1863), and the ormolu mounts in the form of winged sphinxes were crafted by master bronze maker Jean Jacques Feuchère (1807 Paris 1852).
Lot 1293. Pianino with “Boulle” marquetery “aux sphinges ailées”, Louis Philippe, signed IGNACE PLEYEL & COMP. MEDAILLE D'OR 1827 & 1834, FACTEURS DU ROI, PARIS - INCRUSTATIONS DE A BELLANGE EBENISTE EN CURIOSITES 33 RZE DES MARAIS F.ST MARTIN, the instrument from the MAISON IGNACE PLEYEL (1807-1866), the marquetry by A.L. BELLANGE (Aléxandre Louis Bellangé, 1794 Paris 1863), the bronzes by J.J. FEUCHERE (Jean Jacques Feuchère, 1807 Paris 1852), numbered 4798 and bearing the signature of a "tableur" NOEL, Paris, ca. 1835. Estimate CHF 150 000 / 250 000 (€ 138 890 / 231 480). Photo Koller.
Mahogany in veneer on rosewood, exquisitely inlaid with brass fillets, leaves, rosettes, fillets, geometric motifs, and decorative frieze. Exquisite fine tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl keys. Exquisite matte and polished gilt bronze mounts and applications designed as sphinxes, leaves, chimaera, palmettes, meander band and decorative frieze. The mechanical part has been restored, can be played. The sounding board is in excellent condition. 126x64x110 cm.
Provenance: - It is highly likely that this item was produced for Baron James de Rothschild (Frankfurt 1792-1868 Paris) for his townhouse, 19 Rue Laffitte, Paris.
- from a European private collection.
Among other highlights in the furniture auction are a pair of Louis XV trumeau mirrors after a model by Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt (1719 Berlin 1785), who completed commissions for Frederick the Great of Prussia (lot 1050, CHF 80 000 – 120 000), an important gilt-bronze-mounted Empire/Biedermeier armoire after models by Josef Danhauser (1780 Vienna 1829) which was formerly in the palace of the Archduke Albrecht, today’s Albertina Museum (lot 1273, CHF 15 000 – 25 000), and a stunning pair of Russian Directoire gilt bronze and cobalt glass wall appliques (lot 1191, CHF 40 000 – 60 000), identical to those that adorn Vladimir Putin’s office in the Kremlin.
Lot 1050. Pair of small trumeau mirrors, Louis XV, probably after designs by J.M. HOPPENHAUPT (Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt, 1719 Berlin 1785), Potsdam, ca. 1745/50. Estimate CHF 80 000 / 120 000 (€ 74 070 / 111 110). Photo Koller.
Pierced wood, exquisitely carved with cartouches, flowers, leaves and decorative frieze, and gilt. H 216 cm. W 97 cm.
Provenance: - Château de Vincy, Suisse romande.
- Auction Koller Zurich, 22 March 2007 (Lot No. 1157).
- from a private collection, Berlin.
Lot 1273. Important armoire with dancing muses, Empire-Biedermeier, after designs by J. DANHAUSER (Josef Danhauser 1780 Vienna 1829), Vienna ca. 1810-20. Estimate CHF 80 000 / 120 000 (€ 74 070 / 111 110). Photo Koller.
Ebonized pearwood. Front with 1 large door. Exquisite matte and polished gilt bronze mounts and applications designed as dancing muses, Bacchus busts, palmettes and decorative frieze. 155x55x268 cm.
Provenance: - Palais Archduke Albrecht, Vienna (presently Albertina).
- from a private collection, Switzerland.
Lot 1191. Pair of gilt bronze and cobalt glass wall appliques, Directory, Russia ca. 1800. Estimate CHF 40 000 / 60 000 (€ 37 040 / 55 560). Photo Koller.
Cobalt-blue glass, matte and polished gilt bronze and brass, and glass and crystal hangings, in part cut. H 87 cm.
Provenance: - from a private collection, Monaco.
The identical model is in the office rooms of V. Putin in the Kremlin.
Books & Autographs, Old Master & 19th Century Prints & Dawings
Tiepolo, Dada & Erotica
Two works by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727 Venice 1804) are featured in the Drawings auction on 23 September: an oil sketch depicting the Rest on the Flight into Egypt (lot 3425, CHF 20 000 – 30 000), and a brown ink drawing of a standing figure in Oriental dress (lot 3452. CHF 6 000 – 9 000). Both works are remarkable for their powerful spontaneity. The oil study may have been made either as a model for Tiepolo’s workshop or for direct sale, as there was already a market for such studies in Tiepolo’s lifetime. A very similar study is in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zurich.
Lot 3425. Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727 Venice 1804), Rest on the Flight into Egypt, circa 1745/50. Oil on paper, laid on canvas, 39 x 30 cm. In a frame of the 18th century. Estimate CHF 20 000 / 30 000 (€ 37 040 / 55 560). Photo Koller.
Based on first-hand inspection of the original, Prof. Bernard Aikema has attributed the present work as an early work by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo. The impressive quality of this oil study has hitherto been considered to be a work by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. We thank Prof. Aikema for his academic guidance and support.
Provenance: - Heim Gallery, London.
- Abell Collection, New York.
- Jan Mitchel Collection, New York.
- Galerie Bader, Lucerne.
Literature: - B. Nicolson, Review of Faces and Figures of the Baroque. A magnificent Tiepolo grisaille study for a altar-piece, for S. Massimo, Padua;
In: The Burlington Magazine. Januar 1972, p.40 ill. 25.
A very similar oil study is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
Lot 3452. Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727 Venice 1804), Standing Oriental man, wrapped in a cloak. Brush and brown ink. Signed lower left: Dom. Tiepolo. 25.5 x 15.7 cm. Framed. Estimate CHF 6 000 / 9 000 (€ 5 560 / 8 330). Photo Koller.
Provenance: - F. Spingell Collection, Prague and London, Lugt 1049a.
- Carl Winter Collection, acquired from Julius Böhler, Munich (according to label verso).
- Schmitz-Eichhoff Collection, Cologne.
The Books & Autographs auction on 24 September contains two important zoological works: “Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis” by François Levaillant (lot 361, CHF 70 000 – 90 000), and a four-volume ornithological work by Johann Michael Seligmann, “Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzaame Vogelen” (lot 362, CHF 25 000 – 40 000).
Lot 361. François Levaillant, “Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des Rollier, suivie de celle of toucans et des barbus". 2 vols. (Pleated which 2.) With 114 copper plates of Perré u. Bouquet of Jacques Barraband, printed in colors "à la poupée" and manually by Langlois u. Rousset completed, Paris, Denne et Perlé, [1801] 1806. Estimate CHF 70 000 / 90 000 (€ 64,810 / 83,330). Photo Koller.
Imperial Folio. [2] ll., 153 S., [1] Bl .; [2] ll., 133 S., [3] ll. Half-morocco bindings d. Z. with gilt. Spine title u. Band number (kl. Imperfections in terms, something rubbed u. Beschabt, small scratches on lids).
Nissen IVB 559 - 304 Anchor - Room 393 - Ronsil 298 - Wood, S. 434 ( "magnificent work") - Fine Bird Books, p 118. - First edition. - Imposing ornithological masterpiece about birds of paradise, scooters, toucans and barbets which originally appeared in 19 deliveries in the years 1801 and 1806th François Levaillant (1753-1824) was born in Paramaribo, capital of Suriname, as son of the French consul. After studies in France and Germany, he was sent in 1781 by Jacob Temminck, the treasurer of the Dutch East India Company, in the Cape Colony to gather there, especially birds. He undertook Locally to 1784 three expeditions, one of which he brought about 2000 Vögelbälge among others. These served Jacques Barraband (1768-1809), "considered among the best bird artists of the time [Whose] work for Le Vaillant what the climax of his career" (C. Jackson, "Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World", Woodbridge : 1999, p.148), as the basis of his work for the present magnificent work. "In his youth as cartons painted for the Gobelins factory his father; later he also produced porcelain painting for Sèvres and for Factories Dihl and Guerhard and painted still lifes, primarily with flowers, fruits and poultry in 1804 he painted from designs by Percier a. "cabinet portatif" for Joseph Bonaparte. " (AKL VII, 1993, 142 s). These illustrations are well sometimes its most beautiful together with the illustrations for his major work on the Histoire naturelle des Insectes of La Treille, 1801-05. The color effect of his gouaches was maintained even in the medium of the graphic by the elaborate and careful Durckvorgang complementary Coloration by Langlois. - Luxury pressure in Imperial Folio format on fine wove paper. Uncut. - At the end of Volume 2 the errata sheet included in duplicate. - Somewhat foxed (mostly in the margins) full page browned, thunderstorms text leaves little margin tear in white margins at Issue 11. Overall nice specimen with very strong and fresh flavor.
2 volumes. Half-titles, Introducion, 114 engraved plates after Jacques Barraband, printed in colors and finished by hand by Langlois and Rousset. - Occasional foxing (mostly in the margins), someText leaves browned, small tear to carnet 11 - Contemporary red morocco, spines applies with title and volume number (a little rubbed, scratchings to the covers).
The 100th anniversary of Dada is being celebrated this year, and Koller is offering one of the most important publications of the movement, “Die Kathedrale” from 1920, with eight original lithographs by Kurt Schwitters, considered to be among his finest (lot 218, CHF 8 000 – 12 000).
Lot 218. Dada. Kurt Schwitters, The Cathedral. With 8 (incl. Cover) original lithographs. Hannover, P. Steegemann, [1920]. Estimate CHF 8 000/12 000 (€ 7,410 / 11,110). Photo Koller.
22.5 x 14.5 cm. [8] ll. Illustrated original brochure "For sanitary reasons taped caution. Anti-dada" with the printed white fastener strips As well as the back: ". We reject broken specimens KS Merz 1920" (open and recto with small split.).
The Silbergäule 41/42 - Schmalenbach / Bolliger VII, 251 - Motherwell / Karpel 371 - The Artist and the Book 278 - 182 Sale - Meyer 85 - Raabe / H.-B. 163. - One of the most important publications of the Dada movement, in this case with the very rare, perfectly preserved closure.Schwitters had fixed this after his rejection and the scandal at the First International Dada Fair in June 1920 in Berlin on the staple currently being printed. - "The Cathedral graphics are doubtless the finest, most original works produced by Schwitters at this time, And They deserve a place of honor in the history of modern graphics." (Schmalenbach). - Very good copy.
The books auction at Koller will also feature approximately thirty works of erotica from an important Swiss private collection, including ten volumes of works by the Marquis de Sade, formerly in the Michel Simon collection (lot 191, CHF 40 000 – 60 000).
Lot 191. [Donatien Alphonse François de Sade], La nouvelle Justine, ou les Malheurs de la Vertu. Ouvrage orné d'un Frontispice et de quarante Sujets gravés avec soin. [Bde. I-IV] UND: Suivi de l'histoire de Juliette, sa soeur [Bde. V-X]. 10 Bde. Mit gest. Frontispiz u. 99 (st. 100) Kupfertafeln. O.O. ("En Hollande"), 1797 (=Paris, um 1835). Estimate CHF 40 000 / 60 000 (€ 37 040 / 55 560). Photo Koller.
Beautiful blue morocco volumes (around 1860) with gilt. Spine title u. Band number, indoor, floor and Aussenkantenverg. and blindtooled. Cover in floral ornaments, gilt edges (slightly rubbed and slightly worn; Vol. 2 slightly more.).
Cohen/ R. 920-921 - Cioranescu 58094 - Pia Enfer 731 (als Originalausgabe) u. 732 (als Ausgabe von 1835; irrig 372 S. für Band VIII) - Gay-L. II, 735. - Sander 1770: "L'édit. qui est à préférer comme Ire et qui passe pour avoir été imprimée par Didot, se reonnait à la justification de Justine qui est plus petite que celle de Juliette, aux caractères de Justine, plus nets, et au texte, plus correct" - vgl. Ract-M., 'L'édition originale de la Nouvelle Justine et Juliette" in Bulletin du Bibliophile, S. 139-158 - Vicaire VII, 4 u. Quérard VIII, 303 (kennen nur die Octav-Ausgaben Paris 1884 u. Paris, Olivier, 1835 in 2 Bdn.). - Spätere Ausgabe (EA Paris, 1791). - "Juliette, faisant suite et servant de conclusion à la Nouvelle Justine, dont les aventures forment 4 volumes, le tome premier de Juliette, dont l'histoire en contient 6, a été cotté tome 5, et ainsi de suite jusqu'au 10 inclusivement. Les deux Ouvrages, quoique se liant ensemble, se vendent séparément. Les quatre premiers volumes contiennent un frontispice et 40 gravures. Les six derniers 60 gravures." ("Avis", Bd. V). - "Cet ouvrage, où les moeurs, les lois, la nature, la religion, l'humanité, sont outragée ou violées de la manière la plus infâme, où les crimes les plus monstrueux sont érigé en préceptes, et mis en action, eut un prodigieux débit. Il a été réimprimé plus d'une fois clandestinement depuis le commencement de ce siècle" (Q. VIII, 303). - "On n'est point criminel pour faire la peinture Des bizarres pencahns qu'inspire la nature" (Bd. V, Titelbl.).
Sade's work "Justine", which he wrote in 1787 while in detention in the Bastille, was his first published book was originally published in 1791 in Paris at Girouard. Six years later, he published a new, revised edition, under the title "La nouvelle Justine", this was later supplemented by a new extension under the title "L'Histoire de Juliette, sa soeur". Because of the obscene pornographic images the work in 1798 was suppressed and Sade 1801 imprisoned (see. G. Lely, the Marquis de Sade, 1961, Chapter 16). According to A. Bonneau, a 1796 edition of Juliette exists, but no copy is known and its precedence is doubted (Appolinaire, et al. L'Enfer de la Bibliotheque Nationale, p.250 ). Cohen-de Ricci and Cioranescu distinguish between two issues, both of which were published in 1797. The first was the better due to the correct text.The two plants (La nouvelle Justine and Juliette) were both also available separately. In numerous later editions of the publisher's imprint "En Hollande 1797" was left, as is the case in our sample. - The boards well after Claude Bornet (1733-1804). - Only occasionally (and only in the edges) feebly foxing, Vol X from p 330 with kl.. Wet stain in margin, overall very clean copy. Vol. I, p 209/210 u. Vol. X p 350/351 with kl.Randausriss (I with minimal text loss). The panels verso hs. with spring num. -
Provenance: Collection Michel Simon - Bibliothèque Nordmann with bookplate. - Christie's 5445, No. 373. -. Swiss private possession.