SOTHEBY’S IN PARIS
Paris—This year, Sotheby’s end-of-theseason
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sale will be held on December 12,
2018, and will consist of two sessions. The
fi rst will be the dispersal of the “Z” Collection,
which will involve the department of
African and Oceanic art as well as that of
contemporary art. This important grade-A
private collection, which is being referred
to only by a letter for anonymity, features
works from the European avant-garde of
the 1950s and 1960s, including Alechinsky,
Saura, and Christo, as well as great
works of African and Oceanic art, all assembled
by a Belgian collector and his wife
who played a central role in the CoBrA abstract
expressionist art movement while
also being among the most regular and assiduous
visitors of the Sablon’s non-European
art galleries. As such, it is not surprising
that this sale features such works as a remarkable
Sikasingo sculpture from DR Congo acquired around
1970 from Emile Deletaille, who in turn had gotten
it from Pierre Dartevelle. This aesthetically balanced
and powerful work is part of a very limited corpus
of pieces that can be attributed to the hand of a
master identifi ed as the Master of Fizi by Bernard de
Grunne in 2001. A Hemba fi gure from DR Congo
from a Luika River Niembo workshop, also acquired
from a Belgian dealer some fi fty years ago, is no less
impressive.
The excitement that the material in the “Z” Collection
sale will generate should not overshadow
the “various owners” part of the sale. It will include
about a hundred lots, many of which are likely to be
coveted. Highlights of the thirty or so Oceanic lots
that have been announced will be a Rapa Nui reimiro
pectoral ornament that was formerly the property
of Jacob Epstein and of the Loeb family. Classical
works of African art will also be offered and include
a sublime Bamana crest from Mali formerly in the de
Havenon Collection, a Fang reliquary guardian fi gure
that belonged to the Guillaume-Gaffé-Arman triumvirate,
as well as other works shrouded in mystery as
we go to press.
ABOVE: Standing fi gure.
Sikasingo, DR Congo.
Wood. H: 68 cm.
To be offered by Sotheby’s, Paris, on
December 12, 2018, est. 300,000–
500,000 euros.
Seen behind: Antonio Saura, Annie
dans son fauteuil.
LEFT: Male fi gure.
Hemba, DR Congo.
Wood. H: 68 cm.
To be offered by Sotheby’s, Paris, on
December 12, 2018, est. 150,000–
250,000 euros.
RIGHT: Mask, n’domo.
Bamana, Mali.
Wood. H: 69 cm.
To be offered by Sotheby’s, Paris, on
December 12, 2018, est. 250,000–
350,000 euros.
BELOW: Headcrest, ciwara.
Bamana, Mali.
Wood. H: 65 cm.
To be offered by Sotheby’s, Paris, on
December 12, 2018, est. 300,000–
400,000 euros.
All photos © Sotheby’s/
ArtDigital Studio.
ART in motion