ART IN MOTION
42
TOP: Fragmentary fi gure.
Teotihuacan; Valley of
Mexico, Mexico.
AD 450–650.
Greenstone. H: 14 cm.
To be offered by Millon, Paris,
18 September 2019,
est. 3,500–4,500 euros.
TOP RIGHT: Tripod bowl.
Maya; Mexico.
AD 600–900.
Terracotta. D: 33 cm.
To be offered by Millon, Paris,
18 September 2019,
est. 2,500–3,500 euros.
ABOVE: Amulet.
Maya; Mexico.
AD 600–900.
Jade. H: 4.5 cm.
To be offered by Millon, Paris,
18 September 2019,
est. 3,000–4,000 euros.
RIGHT: Dance mask.
Southern Mexico.
Early 19th century.
To be offered by Millon, Paris,
18 September 2019,
est. 800–1,200 euros.
tor Otto van Tussenbroek (1882–1957)
from Aaron Vecht (1886–1965), a dealer
well known for his activities in promoting
Asian and modern art in Holland and in
France.
An unusually large Dogon n’duleri maternity,
acquired in the 1950s and sold at
Sotheby’s London in 1961, is certain to
arouse interest, as are two semicircular
Maori lintels that date from the late nineteenth
or early twentieth century and were
formerly in the collection of Cornelis Pieter
Meulendijk (1912–1979) before being sold
at Christie’s Amsterdam in 1986. A Northwestern
Asmat war shield dating to before
the Second World War and previously in the Ernst Heinrich
Collection in Bad Cannstatt comes to the sale from
yet another collection. The shield is extraordinary for
the representation of an anthropo-zoomorphic fi gure at
its center. Its Amsterdam-based owner also purchased
New Britain objects, including Tolai dance staffs, from
Mia and Loed van Bussel. Evidence of this afi cionado’s
keen eye is apparent in objects he acquired from the
Arctic Circle all the way to the Melanesian Archipelago,
including a korwar fi gure and a small Korewori River-area
yipwon, to mention but a couple of examples.
piece, a red terracotta Colima effi gy, and enriched by
having struck up a friendship with le Corneur that only
grew with the passage of time. This encounter was just
the fi rst in a long series of visits and conversations they
had with the famous dealer, as well as with many other
important players in the fi eld. The Aurances developed
relationships with Charles Ratton, René Rasmussen,
Henri Kamer, and Pierre Langlois, among others.
After a lifetime devoted to the pursuit of knowledge
and the building of a unique collection characterized by
an absolute respect for the fragile nature of archaeological
work, the time has come for the couple to separate
themselves from their achievement. This next step is
very much in keeping with the idea the Aurances have
had of themselves as the devoted but only temporary
guardians of the artworks they have loved. An exhibition
is planned prior to the sale, and anyone interested
will have the opportunity to view the lots at Hôtel
Drouot on September 14–18, 2019.
.
Millon Sale
PARIS—The auction house Millon has announced that
its sale of the Manichak and Jean Aurance Collection
of Pre-Columbian art will take place on September 18,
2019. Remarkable for its comprehensiveness and scope,
as well as for the consistent eye of the couple that assembled
it, the collection is a vision in some ninety lots
of a life devoted to the love and respect of the archaeological
vestiges of Pre-Hispanic cultures and to gathering
and sharing knowledge about them. In 1962, the
couple, two young artists who had just completed their
educations—he at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and she
at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris—attended the
Chefs d’oeuvre d’Art Mexicain (Masterpieces of Mexican
Art) exhibition at the Petite Palais and discovered
the beauty of line and powerful volumes of the art they
saw there. Some time later, they found Galerie Le Corneur,
which came about serendipitously as the result of
having to stop for a red light. This happy accident transformed
their awe into a passion. The time they spent
listening to Olivier le Corneur’s impassioned descriptions
of each of the works in his gallery set the Aurances on
the path to collecting. They soon left with their fi rst