Sotheby’s PARIS—Anticipated since a preview was presented in Paris last September, a fine selection of artworks will comprise the next sale of African and Oceanic art at Sotheby’s, Paris. The event on December 14 will see an intentionally reduced number of lots—only some seventy pieces—stressing artistic importance and historical 28 significance rather than numbers. The opening session will be devoted to the collection of Viviane Jutheau, Comtesse de Witt, France’s first female auctioneer. Passionate about African art, she began the collection with André Schoeller in the early 1980s. The objects they amassed were particularly rich in examples from Central Africa and, above all, from Gabon. Among the twenty-two interesting lots ready to change hands, one is particularly distinguished. This is a large Mbole figure from the Congo, formerly in the Loed and Mia Van Bussel Collection, which Jutheau acquired at the Drouot sale of this collection in 1996. It is estimated to bring between 600,000 and 900,000 euros. With its dynamic profile that creates visual tension between voids and projections, this figure is part of a small corpus of ancestral effigies, or ofika, the precise role of which in the rites of the Lilwa initiatory society remains uncertain. Once the Jutheau Collection is dispersed, a series of fine pieces from various owners will be offered. The traditional arts of Africa will also be showcased FAR LEFT: Seated female. Senufo, Côte d’Ivoire. Wood. H: 38 cm. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, December 14, 2016. Est. 180,000–250,000 euros. MIDDLE LEFT: Staff with four heads. Lega, DR Congo. Wood, pigment. H: 29 cm. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, December 14, 2016. Est. 400,000–600,000 euros. RIGHT: Ancestor figure. Mbole, DR Congo. Wood, pigment. H: 87 cm. Ex Viviane Jutheau, Comtesse de Witt. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, December 14, 2016. Est. 600,000–900,000 euros. LEFT: Spirit figure. Ewa, Upper Korewori River, Papua New Guinea. Wood, pigment. H: 87 cm. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, December 14, 2016. Est. 200,000–250,000 euros. RIGHT: Ancestor figure. Bangwa, Fontem Valley, Cameroon. Wood, pigment. H: 85 cm. Ex Viviane Jutheau, Comtesse de Witt. To be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris, December 14, 2016. Est. 400,000–600,000 euros. ART IN MOTION here, led by a strong collection of Lega artworks from the Congo, a lovely Senufo female figure from Côte d’Ivoire, and a select group of ten works—beaded objects, headrests, and other artworks—attesting to the creative talents of South African artists. Oceania is also represented, albeit with a relatively small number of fine-quality lots. Included in these is a drum from the Torres Strait, a rare Iatmul speaker’s stool that once belonged to Charles Ratton, and a beautifully eroded Korewori River sculpture from Papua New Guinea that was reproduced in Oceanic Art by Anthony J.-P. Meyer. With a low estimate of 200,000 euros on it, lovers of art from the South Seas will certainly compete for this one.
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