PRESS RELEASE________________________________________________APRIL 2010

Almost 1 000 lots for company’s first Johannesburg sale of 2010 

*Specialist evening jewellery session on Tuesday 20 April

*Specialist evening paintings session on Wednesday 21 April

* Five sessions over two days

*Classic and collectable cars return to broaden range of departments

The 20 & 21 April auction to be held in the Rosebank sale rooms of Stephan Welz & Company will break new ground in the sequencing of the five sessions of this two day, one thousand lot sale. This sequencing allows the company to focus on the growth of individual departments and to build up to the two keynote evening sessions, namely Jewellery on the Tuesday and Paintings on the Wednesday.

Session One on Tuesday 20 April begins at 10h00, covering carpets and rugs, ceramics and silver. One of the first highlights of the day is Lot 22, a 126cm by 180cm c1920 Istanbul silk-and-metalthread rug, pre-sale estimated at R80 000 – R120 000. The sale then moves on to ceramics, a section rich in superior collectable pieces.  Lot 40 is an ever-desirable Moorcroft ‘Pomegranate’ pattern pedestal vase c1916. Standing 38cm high and with a full painted signature, it carries a pre-sale estimate of R40 000 – R50 000.  Also in this section is an impressive selection of Meissen, one of the most collectable of all European ceramics. Several Meissen pieces are included, the earliest being Lot 44, a ‘nodding pagoda’ from the mid-19^th Century. Modeled after the original by JJ Kaendler, Meissen’s most famous sculptor,  it is 35cm high and has a pre-sale estimate of R15 000 – R20 000.

                                                                   Lot 44

Of very different appeal is Lot 103, a Tiffany Favril Glass and Patinated Bronze Goose-neck Desk Lamp (R 60 000 - R70 000). As a final selection in this section, the appeal of Ardmore is again in evidence with Lot 89, a Cheese Dish and Cover by Wonderboy Nxumalo. One of his vases sold for a record R200 000 in November 2008.

Session One culminates with electroplate and silver. One piece of silver stands out as being sure to have collectors competing for ownership. It is Lot 146, a George III silver soup tureen and cover made in 1798 by Paul Storr of London. Creativity and craftsmanship are combined in the way for which Paul Storr is respected and revered. With a pre-sale estimate of R350 000 - R450 000, the opportunity to own this piece should not be missed.

                                                                Lot 146

At 14h00 on Tuesday 20 April, Session Two, dedicated to Furniture, clocks and watches,  gets under way with the first lot, Lot 170, being a mahogany-cased concert grand piano by John Broadwood & Sons of London, circa 1914. The piano has been reconditioned, boasts impressive overall dimensions of 265cm long and 157,5cm wide. Its estimate is R50 000 - R60 000.

Other lots in the furniture section warranting attention include Lot 237, a 19^th Century Indian silvered and carved salon suite comprising a settee and two armchairs, each with circular padded backs, cabriole legs and toupie feet. The settee is 164cm long and the lot is pre-sale estimated at R8 000 - R10 000. Also noteworthy is Lot 246, a 19^th Century Cape yellowwood and stinkwood cupboard, with a rectangular top with outset stepped pediment, (R20 000 – R25 000). Of further interest are Lot 224, a Continental walnut bombé bureau profusely inlaid, (R12 000 – R15 000) and Lot 262, from a very different era, a chrome and ponyskin-covered Le Corbusier chaise longue (R10 000 – R15 000).

                                                                  Lot 262

The clock section features a significant range of mantel clocks and carriage clocks and a superb marine chronometer, Lot 275, a two day mechanism by Charles Frodsham of London. It is cased in brass-bound mahogany and is estimated at R20 000 – R30 000. Once again, the array of pocket and wristwatches is breathtaking. Many of the world’s most desirable brands will come under the hammer, including Lot 296 - a lady’s Cartier Tank 18ct gold wristwatch at R25 000 – R35 000; Lot 312 -  a lady’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual DateJust 18ct gold wristwatch at R40 000 – R50 000; Lot 316 - A gentleman’s Breitling Skyracer stainless steel wristwatch at R25 000 – R35 000; Lot 347 - A gentleman’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual Daytona gold and stainless steel wristwatch at R70 000 – R90 000.

                                                           Lots 324, 332, 315 

The sale then takes us to the first of the specialist evening sessions, commencing at 18h30 on Tuesday 20 April.  This is the jewellery evening, a multi-faceted auction starting with Diamonds….three lots being particularly noteworthy. Lot 356 is a 1.7130cts solitaire diamond ring (R40 000 – R60 000). Then comes Lot 357, a 3,1330cts solitaire diamond ring (R200 000 – R300 000). Later in the session, Lot 363 is a breathtaking unmounted oval-cut diamond of 15,0260 cts (R450 000 – R650 000). We are later presented with a selection from contemporary House of Fabergé, including Lot 396, a Fabergé gold mounted miniature enamelled and diamond Easter Egg pendant, by Victor Mayer (R6 000 – R6 800) and Lot 399, a Fabergé enamelled, diamond and gold ring, also by Victor Mayer, at R19 000 – R24 000.

The evening session is further underpinned by the presence of many signed pieces amongst the jewellery consignments, such names as Fabergé, A.E. Kochert, Georg Jensen, Ilias Lalounis, Chopard and Cherles Grieg, for example, being much in evidence.

Wednesday 21 April brings us two further auction sessions.  Session Four starts at 14h00 with a substantial Books, Maps and Africana section before moving on to Paintings and Session Five, the second specialist evening session, starts at 18h30 with four classic and collectable cars being auctioned before the serious business of the top end of the Paintings on offer.  The afternoon session Books and Maps section has been expanded to well over a hundred lots. Of note are Lots 561, 562 and 563, all skilfully crafted stone carvings executed in the 1914 Rebellion and the Anglo-Boer war. With modest estimates from R2 200 – R3 200, interest should be high. Lot 580, a presentation issue of ten volumes of The Brenthurst Second Series should also find favour at a pre-sale estimate of R20 000 – R25 000. Over and above a remarkable array of sought after books, there is also an 1840s collection of original watercolours from the Cape of Good Hope These come from the enigmatic artist ‘JW’ and are pre-sale estimated at R8 000 – R10 000 each (lots 670 to 675)                        

                                                                     Lot 670

Amongst the artists up for offer in the Paintings section of Session Four are Sydney Carter, Erich Mayer, Dorothy Kay, William Timlin, Cecil Higgs, Ruth Squibb, Kenneth Baker, Walter Battiss, Christopher Tugwell, Wessel Marais, Sydney Kumalo, Dan Rakgoathe, Joe Maseko, Nat Mokgosi, Winston Saoli and Joseph Sithole. Two interesting works in this session are Rupert Norman Shepard’s, YOUNG NDEBELE WOMEN IN A VILLAGE SETTING featuring a pre-sale estimate of R6 000 – R9 000 and the nonfigurative Nico Roos, ABSTRACT LANDSCAPE, estimated at R7 000 – R10 000. The session ends with several contemporary works, including the likes of Braam Kruger, Nicolaas Maritz and Judith Mason.

                                                                  Lot 823

The final evening session, on Wednesday 21 April at 18h30 is to be opened with four classic collectable cars being offered at estimates ranging from R250 000 to R1 600 000,. Lot 821 is a 1962 Porsche 356 BT6 cabriolet, conservatively estimated at R1 000 000 – R1 200 000 whilst lot 822, a unique in RSA 1931 Pierce-Arrow RHD Phaeton Model 43 is estimated at R400 000 – R500 000. The session then moves on to a five lot charity auction for the South African Ballet Theatre (SABT), with all proceeds from the sale of five lots to help ensure the continuation of the SABT.

The remainder of the session is dedicated to approximately 170 paintings, beginning with British and Continental paintings and prints, featuring works by Alfred Wheelers, Marino Marini and Andy Warhol. The Traditional and Contemporary South African Art section features a wide array of paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures including the names of Frans Oerder, Hugo Naudé, Erich Mayer, Sydney Carter, Irma Stern, Maggie Laubser, Maurice van Essche, Gregoire Boonzaier, Alexander Rose-Innes, Vladimir Tretchikoff, Anton Van Wouw, Edoardo Villa, Walter Battiss, Alexis Preller, Cecil Skotnes, George Pemba, Ephraim Ngatane, Adriaan Boshoff, Fred Page, Robert Hodgins, Sam Nhlengethwa and William Kentridge. 

The sale’s cover lot, Lot 916, is an early Alexis Preller, STILL LIFE WITH CHAIR, featuring influences from both Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin and the unmistakable yellow chair. The work has a  pre-sale estimate of  R600 000 – R900 000. Another Preller, Lot 917, STUDY WITH SKULL, is a later work and expected to draw keen interest at its pre-sale estimate of R400 000 – R600 000.

                                                                   Lot 917

The session brings three Frans Oerders from the early 1900s under the hammer. Of particular note is Lot 846, CHRIST APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES, (R200 000 – R300 000), one of only five known religious works to have been painted by Frans Oerder  during the First World War. Also featured early in the session is a Willem Hermanus Coetzer, VIEW FROM THE DRAKENSBERG (Lot 881) one of the few works to feature snow-capped mountains in the distance ( R50 000 – R80 000).

Two sensitive portraits by Maurice van Essche are estimated at R200 000 – R300 000 each, namely Lot 887, PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG BOY and Lot 888, PENSIVE WOMAN. As the sale progresses, we then come to Lot 872, PORTRAIT OF AN AUSTRIAN WOMAN, a portrait larger than most works by Maggie Laubser, which carries an estimate of R500 000 – R800 000. Staying in the tradition of portraits, Lot 923, SEATED FIGURE ON A BLUE CHAIR, a bold carved and incised wood-panel by Cecil Skotnes is estimated at R400 000 – R600 000.

                                                                    Lot 923

Lot 901, STILL LIFE WITH POINSETTIAS by Vladimir Tretchikoff, is a vividly captured still life, estimated at R250 000 – R350 000. An Irma Stern gouache, Lot 875, STILL LIFE WITH FLOWERS AND A PUMPKIN, carries an estimate of R400 000 – R600 000.  

Then, to prove that there is something for every pocket and taste, the session moves on to include a punchy and bright Walter Battiss oil, Lot 913, THE FAMILY (R80 000 – R120 000). Two works of equal vibrancy and animation, Lot 988, THREE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A PAINTER and Lot 989, MAN IN A SHINY SUIT, by Robert Hodgins, who sadly passed away this March, are estimated at R120 000 – R160 000 and R80 000 – R120 000 respectively. Also featured in the contemporary section are several works by Braam Kruger and by William Kentridge. A Kentridge charcoal and pastel drawing, Lot 992, ARC/PROCESSION 6  (R200 000 – R250 000) is particularly noteworthy.

                                                         Lot 992

 The session ends with a number of smaller works by contemporary artists such as Kim Berman, Conrad Botes, Claudette Schreuders and Judith Mason.