Classic vs. Modern
28-30 April Live auction results
On Monday 28 April, Bernaerts Auctioneers auctioned off part of the Onzea-Govaerts collection. An exceptional collection where the historical, mostly exotic objects managed to capture the attention of an international audience. Below is a brief report with hammer prices (excluding commission). The full list of results can be found here.
Chronologically, the Onzea-Govaerts collection covered a period of 4,000 years. For instance, a Chinese Li-gui jug from the Longshan culture dating from around 2000 BC sold for € 16000 (lot 37) while for an Iranian Amlash drinking cup in the shape of a bull from around 1200-800 BC a buyer offered € 6000 (lot 39). A Chinese gold dish on foot dating from the Song dynasty (960-1279) and purchased by the family from Gisèle Croës, also sevenfold increased its estimate to be hammered off at € 20000 (lot 73). The same provenance also had a pair of Ming-Ki court ladies from the Tang dynasty (618-907) who were also allocated above estimate (lot 76, res: € 5000).
Apart from these intriguing archaeological objects, the Onzea-Govaerts family also owned exceptional pieces of ancient sculpture including Flemish and Italian polychromed wooden sculptures and exceptional reliefs in alabaster: a mid-15th-century Entombment in alabaster (Nottingham) went for € 10000 and two oak sculpture groups including the Mission in the Temple and an Adoration changed hands for € 8000.
Other results: lot of Chinese porcelain (lot 79, res.: € 10000), four goblets on foot, Nürnberg, 17th century (lot 116, res.: € 6000), set of 22 silver plates, Mexico (lot 157, res.: € 6000). In terms of decorative arts, Western Europe was further represented by a series of eight paintings by Italian painter Armodio, whose hammer prices ranged from € 2200 and € 5000 (lots 26-33).
Later in the evening, coming from other collections, ‘Supper at Emmaus’, from the Rubens/ Brueghel area (lot 184) fetched € 26000 and a portrait from the Cornelis De Vos area (lot 192), as well as a Neo-Renaissance triptych (lot 191) reached € 12000. By Floris Jespers, no fewer than five glass paintings were allocated at prices between € 5000 and € 26000 and there was also a lot of interest in works by Hippolyte Daeye (lot 227, res.: € 19000), Henri-Victor Wolvens (lot 237, res.: € 9000), Jef Verheyen (lot 252, res.: € 32000) and Jan Cockx (lot 228, res.: € 19000). Also surprising were a 1993 ‘Nude’ by Bulgarian painter Mitchy (lot 245, res.: € 13000) and an armchair by Louis-Herman De Koninck (lot 295). The chair from ca. 1930, in chromed metal stood estimated € 600/800 and went a tenfold (res.: € 7500).
Works on Paper 29 & 30 April
The first session of the ‘works on paper’ auction saw mainly extremely strong results in terms of drawings from the period 1900 – 1970.
Belgian artists more than stood their ground amid many top international artists. For example, a beautifully executed drawing by Evert Larock (lot 1045) was hammered off at € 3500, while a fantastic sheet by French fin-de-siècle artist Théophile Steinlen (lot 1051) fetched € 3000. One of the biggest surprises was for a small drawing by Constant Montald (lot 1059) ‘Le passeur d’eau…’, affixed to a posthumous edition of the great poet Emile Verhaeren. The drawing, together with the book, went under the hammer for a staggering € 8000. A few lots followed by the beautiful drawing made by Eugeen Van Mieghem in café Hulstkamp (lot 1064), which brought the new owner to € 18000.
With that result, it even left behind large Bella Kadar drawing (lot 1076), which is departing to a foreign client for € 12000. Then again, Paul Klee’s small rediscovered drawing ‘Circusscene’ (lot 1082) fetched a nice € 12000, while a collage by Paul Joostens (lot 1084) did achieve a well-deserved € 16000. The first session ended with a very nice result for Jean-Michel Folon (lot 1318) whose original preliminary design for a ‘Europalia’ poster in Paris found shelter for the round € 5000.
Wednesday 30 April saw the final part of the ‘works on paper’ auction. The afternoon began with a small but exceptional collection around the great Flemish poet Guido Gezelle. Some remarkable results (excluding commission) were achieved for some rare items such as the original glass negative for one of the most famous portraits of the poet (lot 1522) which found a buyer for € 1200. A few lots before that, the very rare edition ‘Quis enarrabit’ from 1896 (lot 1520) went to a public institution for € 1300. The same destination was reserved for Gezelle’s handwritten letter (lot 1517), which was hammered off at € 2000.
The magnificent copy of the French classic ‘Le Grand Meaulnes’ with handwritten dedication (lot 1542) was waiting to be sold for € 5100 after some hesitation. The same buyer successfully applied at € 4000 for a beautiful deluxe copy of Van Ostaijen’s second collection ‘Het Sienjaal’ (lot 1553).
Among modern/contemporary drawings, the classics lived up to all expectations: Eline Rausenberg (lot 1701) sold at a pleasing € 3200 while a monochrome work by Thomas Rajlich (lot 1718) found a new owner at € 3000. A very rare erotic aquatint by Sam Dillemans (lot 1741) became a hotly contested item and struck at a hefty € 4800. Kati Heck earned a worthy € 5000 with her drawing ‘Neue Freunden – Michael’ (lot 1786) while gallery colleague Ben Sledsens(lot 1793) also saw an early drawing sell for € 10000.
