Steeped in rich history

We are pleased to present artworks with a rich history of provenance - historically significant pieces whose origins we have been able to trace back seamlessly. 

Oceanic and African works from a Munich Private Collection

With the following lots 20 to 38 we present historically significant works from a Munich private collection, which is closely linked to the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart and the Munich art dealer Ludwig Bretschneider.

Among the three „malagan“ figures from New Ireland there is a highly elaborate and delicately designed carving whose history goes back beyond the Linden-Museum to Carl Haug (lot 20). According to the inventory book, the figure was a gift from Haug to the Linden-Museum in 1909. In 1965, it was exchanged to Arthur Speyer and later acquired by Bretschneider.

A rare friction drum refers to Maximilian Franz Thiel (lot 23). It was only carved in New Ireland as an integral part of the “malagan” tradition and is therefore unique to the Oceanic region. Provided with a handwritten note and inventory number it arrived at the Linden-Museum in 1908 as a gift from „Consul Max Thiel, Matupi.“ In 1970, it was given Bretschneider by exchange.
Maximilian Franz Thiel (1865-1939), related to the founders of Hernsheim & Co. on his mother‘s side, worked for the trading company on Jaluit (Marshall Islands) from 1884 and then on Matupit (Bismarck Archipelago) from 1886. Partner of Hernsheim & Co. in 1892 and its managing director by 1903 at the latest, he returned to Germany on May 16, 1910 and ran the company as its director until 1932.

With “49655. Markesas. E.v. Sieglin“ is signed a „u‘u“ club from the Marquesas Islands. It found its way to the Linden-Museum in 1905 as part oft the esteemed „Umlauff“ collection (lot 26).
The Stuttgart manufacturer and patron Ernst von Sieglin (1848-1927), who also financed several archaeological excavations in Egypt, gave the Linden-Museum a large collection in 1905, which he had kept at the ethnographic store „J. F. G. Umlauff, Naturalienhandlung und Museum“ in Hamburg. This striking club was part of it, and changed hands to Ludwig Bretschneider in 1969.

Among the African works in the Munich art collection there is a rare Duala buffalo mask - evidence of a long-gone mask tradition (lot 35). It bears the handwritten note with the inventory number of the Linden-Museum „35431 Kamerun Duala Ziemann“ and was brought to Germany by Hans Ziemann (1865-1939) after the end of his colonial service (1908-1912) and was given to Bretschneider by exchange in 1971.

Pre-Columbian ceramics from the Klaus Kalz Collection, Berlin, Part 1

Being out and about in the world – that could still have been an adventure even in the 1970s. Especially if you travelled like Klaus Kalz, Berlin (1935-2023).

Encountering foreign cultures, immersing himself in other worlds, this had been his dream since his youth, and he was able to fulfill much of it. In South America he followed the traces of past civilizations and explored the Amazonas River by boat. “He happily moved away from the group, who were relieved when he reappeared,” the family remembers. His willingness to venture off the beaten path often found him traversing remote landscapes, such as West Papua, „where because of or thanks to flooding, he moved further into the interior of the country than any missionary before him.”

Brimming with medication, Klaus Kalz always carried a large duffel bag on all his trips. As medical doctor specializing in urology he was always prepared to offer medical assistance to those in need, regardless of location or circumtances.

His passion for collecting was the pre-Columbian ceramics, especially those of the Chavin, Nazca and Moche civilizations, whose magnificent craftsmanship and design artistry particularly fascinated him.
To ensure the integrity of his acquisitions, he collaborated closely with esteemed institutions like the Berlin Ethnological Museum and the Rathgen Research Laboratory (TL dating), an institute of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
Utilizing his medical expertise, he employed techniques such as endoscopic examination, to check hollow vessels for bonding and restorations. Objects that seemed questionable to him were sometimes subjected to a water immersion test overnight so that the next morning he was certain whether a vessel was completely original or had been assembled from several shards.

Klaus Kalz passed away shortly before his 88th birthday in 2023. At that time his collection of pre-Columbian ceramics numbered 120 works. It is a pleasure for us to be able to present the first part of this excellent collection (lots 61 to 99): figurine vessels and stirrup vessels as well as bowls and cups dating from 100 BC until 1000 AD.

Objects from Japan and Africa in the Collection of Werner Zintl, Worms (1938-2020), Part 2

Nearly two years ago, in March 2022, we had the pleasure and privilege of presenting the first part of the remarkable Werner Zintl collection, a collection that garnered noteworthy attention far beyond the circle of friends (Auction 98, on March 26, 2022, Volume I).

Today, we are delighted to feature another part of his legacy. Through lots ??? to ???, we provide another window into the world of Werner Zintl, a collector and psychiatrist whose deep-seated passion for art captivated all who crossed his path.

For further insights into Werner Zintl‘s collection, please refer to Auction Catalog 98, 2022, Volume I, or visit:
https://issuu.com/zemanek/docs/tribalart98
https://assets.tribal-art-auktion.de/downloads/catalogue216.pdf

African Goldsmith Art (Lots 162-178)

From Senegal to Nigeria - West Africa‘s gold wealth is legendary. Since the first European voyages of discovery in the 15th century and well into the 19th century, the gold fields of the coastal regions were described as rich – especially Ghana. The Akan region achieved extraordinary fame because, like no other, it stood for highly sophisticated blacksmithing. Pieces of jewellery and regalia were brought to artistic and craftsmanship perfection despite the most modest technical means possible. Shiny and flawless precious metal that, then as now, was highly coveted and in demand far beyond the borders.

This following publications provide a very clear insight into the history and development of traditional gold in West Africa - from gold mining to further processing and distribution:

- Timothy F. Garrard, Afrikanisches Gold, Barbier-Mueller Museum Genf, Prestel Verlag Munich, 1989
- Peter Baum, Doran H. Ross, Das Gold der Akan, ed. Liaunig Museum, Neuhaus 2008

Oceania and Africa from the Alexander Kubetz Collection, Munich (1946-2023), Part 2

After the very successful auction of African and Oceanic art works last November (Auction 101 on 11th of November, 2023), we are pleased to feature the second and final part of Alexander Kubetz‘s rich Oceanic and African Collection.

20 works come from Oceania, the region that first aroused his enthusiasm for non-European art and marks the beginning of his collecting.

To begin with, we present an outstanding piece from the Biwat people, once part of the well known Cornelis Meulendijk collection (Rotterdam, 1912-1979) (Lot 307), who was a very esteemed connoisseur of tribal art. This rare mask, auctioned at Christie’s in 1980, is characterised by its striking features: the almost naturalistic nose, the heavy, overhanging eyebrows and the protruding, open mouth.

With lot number 308 we offer another rare piece. An Ewa head sculpture that is stylistically very close to the carvings that were discovered in the 1960s in the caves and grottoes in the upper reaches of the Korewori River, and was considered at the time to be the greatest treasure of Oceanic art ever found.

His Oceania collection is completed by a carving work from the Solomon Islands (lot 309). An ancestral figure with dominating hairstyle that reveals its full artistic quality upon closer inspection: an effect aimed at severity and authority as well as an almost noticeable presence in the here and now. The artist skillfully manages to express all of this solely through the figure‘s posture and gestures, and completes it with a tiny detail: the shiny shell inlays in the eyes. More connection to the viewer in the here and now is hardly possible.

With the lots 327 to 397 we present his Africa collection of artistic shields and weapons, which would not have been conceivable without Kubetz‘s friendship with Manfred A. Zirngibl.