ZURICH.- Koller dedicates its June auctions to Modern, Contemporary and Swiss Art. Top lots in the auction will include "La famille du pêcheur" by Marc Chagall, the important Symbolist composition "Urkraft" by Ferdinand Hodler, three paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and the impressive portrait "Mother and Child" by Fernando Botero.
Impressionist and Modern Art
An important painting by Chagall and three Renoirs
From the “painter poet” Marc Chagall comes “La famille du pêcheur”, an oil painting composed of shades of deep blue. Produced in 1968, it has been exhibited in major Chagall retrospectives such as at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow in 1987, at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Turin in 2004 and at the Museum of Art in Seoul. It will now be presented at Koller with an estimate of CHF 2.5 to 3 million.
Three paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir will lead the selection of Impressionist works offered in the auction. “La Bergère” was created by the master in c.1902 and is presented with an estimate of CHF 1 to 1.5 million. “Baigneuse assise, de dos” and “Bouquet d’anémones” both originate from 1917, and thus from the late works produced by the artist. They are estimated at CHF 180 000 to 250 000 and CHF 250 000 to 350 000.
The auction will additionally feature a pencil drawing “Nu couché” by Pablo Picasso from the period between 1942 and 1944, estimated at CHF 180 000 to 240 000, and an ink drawing “Tête de jeune fille” by Henri Matisse from 1950, estimated at CHF 240 000 to 300 000.
Swiss Art
Rediscovered Symbolist work by Ferdinand Hodler
On 26 June Koller will bring to auction one of Ferdinand Hodler’s major Symbolist works, “Urkraft”. This impressive figure painting was created in the first half of 1909 and takes up the then-revolutionary theme of the “Lebensreform” cult of the body. The work was formerly acquired directly from the artist by the German philosopher and collector Eberhard Griesebach (1880-1945) and in 1942 it entered a Swiss collection. From there, it will now be offered for the first time on the art market. This well-documented painting is estimated to achieve CHF 400 000 to 500 000.
An additional top lot is presented by a rare large-format painting by August Giacometti. The 113×150 cm “Marseille II” from 1930 is impressive not only in size, but also through its captivating play of Mediterranean colours. It is estimated at CHF 350 000 and 450 000.
PostWar & Contemporary
Botero’s “Mother and Child”
The particularly impressive top lots of the Post War and Contemporary auction include Fernando Botero’s oil painting “Mother and Child” from 2003, showing a toddler sitting on his mother’s lap. Like many of Botero’s works, this one also presents rounded bodies with exaggerated proportions, developed out of the glorification of sensuality and life. The work is estimated at CHF 340 000 to 400 000.
Important rare works in this auction additionally include an abstracted landscape created in 1963 by Jean Fautrier in shaded whites and reds briskly applied in broad impasto brushstrokes, estimated at CHF 115 000 to 130 000, as well as Hans Hartung’s largeformat oil painting “T1958-18”, with its swinging serrated forms lending the picture a sense of dynamic energy, estimated at CHF 325 000 to 380 000.
Modern and Contemporary Prints
Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol
The selection of modern prints offered in the auction includes a beautiful etching by Paul Klee. This 15×17 cm work “Komiker” from 1904 is presented with an estimate of CHF 40 000 to 50 000.
Estimated at CHF 40 000 to 60 000, a complete portfolio of “Portraits imaginaires” by Pablo Picasso with 29 signed and dated colour lithographs after the painting series from 1969 will also be offered in the auction, in addition to the portrait “Jeune fille inspirée par Cranach”, estimated at CHF 30 000 to 40 000.
Top lots of the contemporary prints include Andy Warhol’s colour silkscreen of a Goethe portrait. It was inspired by J.H.W. Tischbein’s painting “Goethe in der römischen Campagna” which he had seen during a visit to the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. It is estimated at CHF 35 000 to 45 000.
Art Deco, Art Nouveau
Rare furniture by Émile Gallé
Émile Gallé leads the Art Déco and Art Nouveau auction. Three special pieces of furniture stand in the spotlight: an “Umbels” model chair with a backrest in the form of a giant chervil – a very rare model and arguably Gallé’s most beautiful – (CHF 18 000 to 25 000), a side table with the highly popular dragonfly and lily motifs (CHF 15 000 to 20 000) and a side table with fern decoration, also a rarely found model (CHF 5 000 to 8 000). Among Gallé’s more well-known works represented in this auction are two large mushroom-shaped table lamps, which will each be auctioned with an estimate of CHF 15 000 to 20 000.
An additional rarity is presented by a beautifully crafted pair of bronze figures by Roland Paris: a jester and a magician with alabaster faces, each with a bird on his knee. This model is popularly known in the form of substantially smaller bookends; however, in this size – about 40 cm long and tall – they are extremely rare. The pair is estimated at CHF 18 000 to 25 000.
Design
Italian and Swiss classics
Italian Design is represented in this auction by a number of well-known names such as Marzio Cecchi. His “Diapason” desk, constructed from a single piece of steel and with a round recess for the feet, is offered with an estimate of CHF 20 000 to 30 000. A salon table made of green parchment by Aldo Tura, the “maestro della pergamena”, is estimated at CHF 4 000 to 6 000.
A work by the Swiss designer Koni Ochsner is also among the auction’s diverse selection. His cabinet “Mondrian 3”, designed in 1977 for Röthlisberger Kollektion, will be auctioned with an estimate of CHF 5 000 to 7 000.
Jewellery
Exklusive diamonds
Once again the jewellery auction presents a variety of signed pieces of contemporary and antique jewellery, in addition to many diamond objects. A distinctive Hardy Brothers diamond ring with a central brilliant-cut diamond of 5.07 ct., two pink diamonds and 72 smaller brilliant-cut diamonds is estimated at CHF 220 000 to 320 000. A modern ring with a large Ceylon sapphire of approx. 25.00 ct. and numerous smaller sapphires by Johannes Hundt will be offered with an estimate of CHF 70 000 to 100 000.
The particularly magnificent top lots include a bangle by Adler, set with 3 South Sea pearls as well as 186 diamond baguettes and numerous brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 52.33 ct. It is estimated at CHF 80 000 to 120 000. Highlights also include a diamond ring made of platinum with three pear-shaped diamonds for CHF 180 000 to 240 000 and an Art Déco diamond ring from 1925, with a Burma ruby of 4.01 ct. and 24 old-cut diamonds for CHF 50 000 to 80 000.
Watches
Patek Philippe and Rolex
This summer Koller will publish a new separate catalogue for wristwatches, pocketwatches and table clocks. The selection includes vintage models such as a Patek Philippe Jumbo Nautilus from the 1970s for CHF 16 000 and 26 000, a Rolex Pre-Daytona from 1965 for CHF 15 000 to 30 000, and an Omega Flightmaster Chronograph from the 1970s for CHF 9 000 to16 000.
A verge pocketwatch by Markwick Markham Borell from 1810 is likely to arouse the interest of pocketwatch enthusiasts and collectors. Its case exterior is decorated in champlevé enamel and the interior with the finest miniature painting. This particularly fine work is offered with an estimate of CHF 10 000 to 15 000.
An agate, gold and enamel table clock by Cartier presents another rarity in the clock auction. Set with four sapphire cabochons, this c.1915 clock is estimated at CHF 22 000 to 35 000.
