ART IN MOTION
28
SUBLIME MINIATURES
PARIS—Afi cionados of African, Oceanic, and Indonesian
art will be familiar with the name Patrick Caput. He is
an art expert with a keen eye and a reputation for independence
who has collaborated with a number of major
auction houses. At the same time, he has been an avid
collector with a thirst for new objects that has yet to be
slaked despite fi fty years of collecting. He discusses this
side of himself in the introduction to Arts d’Afrique. Portrait
d’une collection (5 Continents Editions, 2016), a
book that pays homage to his taste and sensitivity, honed
by the discerning and considered acquisitions he and his
wife, Béatrice, have made over the years. Their tireless
search for beauty was always accompanied by a quest for
meaning. For the Caputs, the true appreciation of a work
had to come by way of an intimate understanding of its
many dimensions, both of form and use. The structure of
the book attests to this conviction.
The importance of the Caputs’ engagement with their
collection explains the excitement with which auctioneers
Binoche et Giquello have announced the sale of the couple’s
collection of miniatures, which will be held on November
15, 2018. It will include the entire group of these
objects and not just a few that the collectors might have
decided to divest themselves of. Statuettes, ornaments,
and utilitarian objects, forty works in all, most of which fi t
into the palm of a hand, will represent some of the fi nest
arts of Africa, Oceania, and Indonesia. The masterful art
of the Bembe people from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo is represented by a small fi gure, formerly in the
Max Pellequer Collection, the gentle forms of which contrast
with the intensity of its expression. The sophistication
of the art of the Marquesas Islands is powerfully displayed
in a fi ve-centimeter-tall ivi po’o toggle previously in the
collections of Paul Rupalley, Charles Ratton, and Michel
Leveau. The purity of line and the almost sculptural effect
of the sacrifi cial materials that objects from Borneo often
evince is clearly apparent in a small Dayak poison container
that was formerly in the Marc Pinto Collection. We
could go on, but you can see the full collection for yourself
in the sale catalog.
A few larger works will also be featured in the “miniatures”
sale. Among these will be one of four known scepters
of its kind from the Tshokwe people of Angola and
the only one in private hands. November 15 clearly is a
date that art connoisseurs at all levels will want to note in
their calendars.
All objects on this page are from the
Béatrice and Patrick Caput Collection,
to be offered by Binoche et Giquello
on November 15, 2018.
RIGHT: Spoon. Nuna,
Burkina Faso.
Ivory. H: 18 cm.
Est. 5,000–8,000 euros.
ABOVE: Container. Dayak,
eastern Kalimantan. Borneo,
Indonesia.
Wood. H: 7.5 cm.
Est. 8,000–10,000 euros.
RIGHT: Ancestor fi gure.
Bembe, DR Congo.
Wood, beads. H: 14.5 cm.
Est. 80,000–120,000 euros.
BELOW: Scepter.
Tshokwe, Angola.
Wood. H: 42 cm.
Est. 300,000–350,000 euros.
BELOW RIGHT: Helmet.
Proto-Senufo, Mali.
Wood. H: 54 cm.
Est. 80,000–100,000 euros.
LEFT & RIGHT: Staff. Baule, Côte d’Ivoire.
Wood. H: 156 cm.
Est. 35,000–45,000 euros.