Having started buying art works by my contemporaries back in the early 1960's, I was not sure if I qualified as a 'new collector' and upon arriving at the sale, I was pleased to see a number of other collectors there from my generation... so all was good.
The major drawcard and the lots that had the most interest for me were 37 lots from the Estate of Peter Sauerbier, consisting of photographs archive material and drawings given to Sauerbier by Theo Schoon over an extended period of time. Sauerbier and Schoon shared a common Dutch heritage and as creative souls in a strange new land enjoyed a long and strong friendship.
Opening the Saubier selection was a black & white photograph by Steve Ramsbay of Schoon (Lot 81 ) which sold for $2200 while a much more informative colour photograph by an unidentified photographer (lot 82) sold for only $300. It raised the question about buying named works as opposed to those that have not yet been identified. Personally i feel that Mr. (orMrs) A. Nonymous get a a raw deal in the very 'name' oriented art market.
An archive of drawings of Maori tattooed heads (Moko Mokai) (lot 98) from various museums and collectors sold well above the estimate of $3,000- $6,000 for a staggering $19,000 while a folio of 19 studies of Moko Mokai (lot 99) one of our early export industries sold for an even more surprising $26,000 to a phone bidder, after a protracted out of the room battle.
Theo Schoon was perhaps the first European to decode, understand, reinvent and reinvigorate Maori design systems and this rare and highly charged personal material was clear and concise evidence of his meticulous research into Maori material culture, and the market was aware of the historical significance of these pieces of paper.
Two 25 x 20 cm copy photographs originally taken in Auckland by Pulman's Photographic Studio in the late 19th century and ever so lightly hand coloured by Schoon (Lot 101 ) and (Lot 102 ) sold for $5,100 and $6,000 both exceeding the top end estimates of $2,000.
A small selection of contemporary New Zealand jewellery from a Wellington collector sold well. All the pieces were made by Warwick Freeman and a three piece pendant (Lot 40 ) achieved top hammer price of $3,200 while an ANZAC pendant (Lot 38 ) sold for $3,100.
The top price on the night for other art works went to a Ralph Hotere glass and gold leaf work Le Negro Sobre Lo Oro [The Black over the Gold] (Lot 177 ) produced in 1993 which sold for $13,000, while one of his drawings sold for $8,000. and another for $6,000.
An oil on linen by Gavin Hurley of Sir Walter (Lot 131 ) sold for a hammer price of $7,500 and a light-box work by Gina Jones (Lot 55 ) from 2010 sold for $8,500.
Although somewhat patchy in parts due to the fact that 350 lots is perhaps too many for a focused art sale I am sure at the end of the day the team at Art + Object would be happy with the results.
All prices shown are hammer prices expressed in $NZ.
