Cape Town July 2019 Auction

396
Jan Dingemans
(South African 1921 - 2001)
BEIGE FLORAL COMPOSITION
signed and dated '91
oil on board
63,5 by 116,5cm
R 6 000 - R 9 000

396

397
Mieczyslaw Chojko
(Polish 1919 - 1978)
MOUNTAIN WITH RED
signed and dated 51
gouache on paper
36 by 53cm
R 6 000 - R 9 000

397

398
Jan Dingemans
(South African 1921 - 2001)
MULTICOLOURED ABSTRACT COMPOSITION
signed
oil on paper
32,5 by 41,5cm
R 5 000 - R 8 000

398
Fine Art | 99

399

400 401 401

399 400 Andrew Clement Verster
(South African 1937 - )
Alfred Frederic Krenz Roger Bezombes
(South African 1899 - 1980) (French 1913 - 1994) RED AND BLACK ABSTRACT

DESERT IN BLOOM ABSTRACT COMPOSITION signed and dated 96
WITH RED FISH oil on canvas
signed, dated 1959, editioned 'No. 10' and 59,5 by 44cm
inscribed with the title and medium in signed with colour pencil and editioned
pencil in the margin 33/150 with pencil in the margin; R 18 000 - R 25 000
linocut printed in colours biographical details adhered to the
sheet size: 36,5 by 51,5cm reverse
screenprint printed in colours
R 2 000 - R 3 000 sheet size: 49,5 by 38cm

R 5 000 - R 8 000

100 | Fine Art

402 403

405

404

402 403 404 405

Fred Schimmel André Lanskoy Sydney Goldblatt Anton Smit
(South African 1928 - 2009) (French/Russian 1902 - 1976) (South African 1919 - 1979) (South African 1954 - )

ABSTRACT COMPOSITION ABSTRACT COMPOSITION COMPOSITION WITH PALE GREEN NUDE WITH ARM ACROSS TORSO
IN EARTH COLOURS
signed and editioned 54/120 in
signed, dated '79 and pencil in the margin; biographical signed signed, dated 2004 and editioned
editioned 74/75 in pencil in the details adhered to the reverse ink and acrylic on card 1/24
margin screenprint printed in colours 39,5 by 27cm bronze
screenprint printed in colours sheet size: 65 by 49cm height: 30cm
sheet size: 66 by 45,5cm R 12 000 - R 18 000
R 8 000 - R 12 000 R 8 000 - R 12 000

PROVENANCE
Atlantic Gallery

R 2 000 - R 3 000

Fine Art | 101

406 407

406 407
Ernest Ullmann
(South African 1900 - 1975) May Hillhouse
DRINKING FIGURE ON STOOL (South African 1908 - 1989)
bronze
height: 20cm DEMOLITION
PROVENANCE
Sold: Stephan Welz & Co., Johannesburg, signed, editioned 4/12 and inscribed with the
13 May 2002 title in pencil in the margin; labels from South
R 5 000 - R 8 000 African National Gallery and Pretoria Art Museum
adhered to the reverse
102 | Fine Art etching
sheet size: 34,5 by 27,5cm

R 2 000 - R 4 000

408 409
409
408 Jan Dingemans
(South African 1921 - 2001)
Regi Bardavid ABSTRACTION WITH NAVY BLUE
(Egyptian 1945 - ) signed and dated '88
oil on board
THE GREAT SEAL R 6 000 - R 9 000

inscribed with the title, artist's name Fine Art | 103
and dated 1994 on the reverse
oil on canvas
130 by 170cm

R 5 000 - R 8 000

410

411 412 412
410 411
Joseph Koutachy
Charles Giron Louis Jansen van Vuuren (French 1907 - )
(Swiss 1850 - 1914) (South African 1949 - )
RED-HOODED FIGURE IN
VILLAGE BELOW THE VIEW OF LIONSHEAD AND FOREST
SNOW-CAPPED ALPS SIGNAL HILL
FROM ARTIST'S BALCONY signed and inscribed with the
signed artist's name on the reverse
oil on board signed and dated 1999 oil and varnish on canvas
48 by 94cm pastel on card 26 by 21cm
68 by 48cm
R 10 000 - R 15 000 R 5 000 - R 8 000
R 6 000 - R 9 000

104 | Fine Art

413 414

Tinus de Jongh Jean Doyle
(South African 1885 - 1942) (South African 1930 - )

GEVANGENPOORT IN BERGEN OP RECLINING WOMAN IN BIKINI
ZOOM
signed and editioned 6/10
signed bronze on wooden base
oil on board height: 17,5cm
12,5 by 8cm
R 10 000 - R 15 000
R 8 000 - R 12 000

This view of the famous medieval 415
tower prison at Bergen op Zoom in
Holland, is an early work by Tinus Anton Smit
de Jongh, who was born close by (South African 1954 - )
in the historic city of Amsterdam.
This miniature oil on wood, has all NUDE
the characteristics of the sober
Dutch style with which he began his signed, dated 2004, editioned 1/24
painting career. The artist achieved and stamped with the
some recognition in Holland, when Bronze Age foundry mark
the Stedelike Museum purchased bronze
one of his works, yet despite this, height: 26,5cm
he migrated to Cape Town in 1921.
Dazzled by the light and scenery, R 8 000 - R 12 000
he abandoned his muted palette for
saturated colours and a formulaic NO LOTS 416 - 420
approach to his subject matter
- largely Cape landscapes.

His work was immediately popular,
and in the 21 years he lived here
Tinus de Jongh produced hundreds
of instantly recognizable views
and etchings of Southern African
landmarks. He died in 1942, leaving his
landscape legacy to his son Gabriel to
413 continue. - C. K.

*https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/
photo-s/06/26/bc/c1/gevangenpoort.jpg

415
414

View, Register and Bid on any lot through our Digital Saleroom – www.swelco.co.za Fine Art | 105

106

Session 4

Monday | 1 July | 7pm

Lots 421 - 520
Furniture

African Art
Fine Art

107

422 423
421
A VICTORIAN MAHOGANY, BEECH AND WALNUT METAMORPHIC
A GEORGE III MAHOGANY CHEST OF DRAWERS GAMES TABLE, LATE 19TH CENTURY

The rectangular top above a brush slide, The hinged, square moulded top centred by a swivelling playing surface, one
four graduating long drawers below, on bracket feet side checker board, the other with an inset baize playing surface, above a
83cm high, 91cm wide, 55,5cm deep curved frieze, each centred with a counter slide, on ring-turned tapering legs,
restorations
R 5 000 - R 7 000 74cm high, 79cm square

422 R 15 000 - R 20 000

A WILLIAM IV MAHOGANY EXTENDING DINING TABLE 424

The moulded rectangular top above a plain frieze, on turned tapering A PAIR OF CONTINENTAL MAHOGANY WING BACK CHAIRS,
gadrooned legs LATE 19TH CENTURY
75cm high, 143cm wide, 270cm long fully extended
Each caned back and sides within a conforming moulded frame, carved
R 10 000 - R 15 000 scrolling arms above a stuff-over seat, on shell-carved cabriole legs (2)

R 10 000 - R 15 000

423 424
108 | Furniture

425

A CAPE STINKWOOD ARMOIRE,
LATE 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY

The gabled cornice headed by an
acanthus-carved keyblock flanked by carved
flowerheads and foliage, above a pair of
panelled doors enclosing two shelves and
two drawers, panelled sides, six short drawers
below above a conforming apron, on lead-head
double scroll feet
285cm high, 169cm wide, 68cm deep

c.f. Baraitser, M & Obholzer, A, Cape Antique
Furniture, Struik, Cape Town, 2004, p271 where
a similar example is illustrated

R 200 000 - R 300 000

Furniture | 109

426 426 428 427

A CAPE STINKWOOD NEOCLASSICAL SPLIT A CAPE YELLOWWOOD AND STINKWOOD 430
SPLAT BENCH, EARLY 19TH CENTURY FOUR POSTER BED, MID 19TH CENTURY
A CAPE YELLOWWOOD AND STINKWOOD
The four-chair back with pierced tapering The shaped head and foot board surmounted by FOUR POSTER BED, MID 19TH CENTURY
splats, plain arms, caned seat, on square-section turned tapering posts beneath a square-section
tapering legs, joined by H-stretchers canopy, on turned tapering feet The domed head and shaped foot rail on turned
240cm high, 144cm wide, 207,5cm long spindles surmounted by turned tapering posts
188cm long surmounted by finials beneath an arched canopy,
R 25 000 - R 35 000 on turned tapering feet
R 8 000 - R 12 000 201cm long, 138cm wide, 192cm high

R 20 000 - R 30 000

427 429

A PAIR OF CAPE STINKWOOD AN EASTERN CAPE YELLOWWOOD BENCH,
NEOCLASSICAL SPLIT SPLAT SIDE CHAIRS, 19TH CENTURY
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
The leaf-carved top rail above a trellised back
Each curved top rail above a pierced and shaped centred by a pierced and shaped splat,
splat, caned seat, on square-section tapering legs inscribed J de Beer 1888, plain bottom rail,
(2) scrolling arms on curved supports, caned seat,
on faceted upturned baluster legs, distress
R 4 000 - R 6 000 185cm long

R 30 000 - R 50 000

429 430
110 | Furniture

432

431 432

A LARGE CHINESE HETAOMU, (WALNUT) A PAIR OF LARGE CHINESE WINDOW
CABINET, GANSU, QING DYNASTY, SHUTTERS, QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
19TH CENTURY
Each square panel centred by a roundel, pierced
The rectangular top with an overhanging and carved with coin and persimmon medallions,
cap-frame above a pair of pivot-hinged doors and geometric patterns and stylised Shou character
a set of three drawers supporting a shaped apron, all around a central carving of a Qilin amongst
the flush-panelled legs terminating in foliage, each corner carved with a pair of
“leopard-leg” feet, restoration, alterations confronting Chilong (2)
134cm high, 120cm wide, 42cm deep
R 10 000 - R 15 000
PROVENANCE
Acquired from Global Heritage, Cape Town

R 12 000 - R 15 000

Furniture | 111

433 433

434 AN AX CHAIR, DESIGNED IN 1974 BY PETER HVIDT AND
ORLA MOLGAARD-NIELSEN MANUFACTURED BY FRANCE
AND SON, DENMARK

The curved back between bentwood arms, plank seat, on
rounded tapering legs, joined by double front and back
stretchers

R 14 000 - R 16 000

434

A BEECH AND TEAK AX TABLE, DESIGNED IN 1951
BY PETER HVIDT AND ORLA MØLGAARD-NIELSEN

The rounded rectangular top on Y-shaped supports,
on tapering legs, joined by side-stretchers
57cm high, 78cm wide, 42cm deep

R 14 000 - R 18 000

435

AN EXTENDING DINING TABLE, DESIGNED
BY NIELS MØLLER FOR FRANCE AND SON

The oval top on rounded supports, on splayed feet

R 14 000 - R 18 000

436

A BEECH AND BURR WALNUT GRAINED TABLE,
MANUFACTURED BY FIRMA FISCHEL AND SOHNE,
AUSTRIA

The circular top above a conforming shelf,
on square-section bentwood legs
57cm high, 50,5cm diameter

R 9 000 - R 12 000

436

112 | Furniture

437 437
438 AN OAK GE 265-2 SOFA, DESIGNED BY
HANS WEGNER, MANUFACTURED BY GETAMA,
DENMARK
Each loose back and seat cushion between open
arms, on turned legs
127cm long
R 27 000 - R 30 000

438
AN ASH PLYWOOD EASYCHAIR, DESIGNED BY
DITTE AND ADRIAN HEATH, MANUFACTURED
BY FRANCE AND SON, DENMARK
Tufted back and seat cushion, loose headrest,
padded arms on a bentwood frame, joined by an
H-stretcher
R 17 000 - R 20 000

Furniture | 113

439 439
440 A BEECH GE 220-3 SOFA, DESIGNED BY HANS
WEGNER MANUFACTURED BY GETAMA, DENMARK
Each loose back and seat cushion between shaped
show wood arms, slatted back. on shaped square-
section legs, joined by side stretchers
189,5cm long
R 22 000 - R 25 000

440
A PAIR OF BIRCH SIESTA ARMCHAIRS, DESIGNED
BY INGMAR RELLING MANUFACTURED BY
WESTNOFA, NORWAY
Each tufted back and seat cushion between sling
arms, bentwood frame on an H-stretcher (2)
R 15 000 - R 18 000

441
A DUX ARMCHAIR, DESIGNED BY
ALF SVENSON, SWEDEN
The rounded top rail above turned spindles, loose
back and seat cushions, plank seat, on turned legs
R 6 000 - R 9 000

441

114 | Furniture

442
442 A MAHOGANY, YELLOWWOOD AND STINKWOOD INLAID TABLE,

MANUFACTURED BY PETER BAXTER, MODERN
The rectangular top with tortoise-shell inlay above a plain frieze, on square-
section tapering legs
79cm high, 120cm wide, 265cm long
R 40 000 - R 60 000

443
AN ABACO CHANDELIER, DESIGNED BY MONICA GUGGISBERG AND
PHILIP BALDWIN, 1998, MANUFACTURED BY VENINI, ITALY
Five hand blown glass spheres mounted on a stainless steel rod
173cm long
R 14 000 - R 18 000

NO LOTS 444 - 450

Furniture | 115

451

A ZULU GROOVED VESSEL WITH LID, 19TH CENTURY

Oval vessel with lid standing on three feet, blackened, surface
completely covered with carved v-grooves set in triangles
separated by verticals
height: 44cm

PROVENANCE
Collection of Gordon Crawford
Deceased Estate, Chailey, Sussex.
United Kingdom

LITERATURE
T Elliott, C., Cartwight, etc. Maker, material and method:
reinstating an indigenously made chair from KwaZulu,
South Africa, The British Museum, Technical Research Bulletin.
Volume 7, 2013. 15-30.

Anitra Nettlton, ‘Zulu’ wooden vessels:
The archive and the history of a genre, Southern African
Humanities Kwa-Zulu Museum, 31, November 2018, 93-115.

R 100 000 - R 150 000

116 | Furniture

452

A ZULU GROOVED VESSEL WITH LID, 19TH CENTURY

Oval vessel with lid standing on three feet, blackened, surface
completely covered with carved v-grooves set in triangles
separated by verticals
height: 44cm

PROVENANCE
Gordon Crawford
Deceased Estate, Chailey, Sussex. United Kingdom

LITERATURE
T Elliott, C., Cartwight, etc. Maker, material and method:
reinstating an indigenously made chair from KwaZulu,
South Africa, The British Museum, Technical Research Bulletin.
Volume 7, 2013. 15-30.

Anitra Nettlton, ‘Zulu’ wooden vessels:
The archive and the history of a genre, Southern African
Humanities Kwa-Zulu Museum, 31, November 2018, 93-115.

R 100 000 - R 130 000

NO LOTS 453 - 460

African Art | 117

461
David Goldblatt
(South African 1930 - 2018)
FOUR CONTACT SHEETS from STRUCTURES
photolithographs (4)
PROVENANCE
Gifted by the artist to the current owner
R 40 000 - R 60 000
“Over the years I have photographed South African structures which I found eloquent of the dominion
which Whites gradually came to exert over all of South Africa and its peoples. That time of domination
began in about 1660 when Jan van Riebeeck ordered a cordon to be erected of blockhouses and
barriers that would exclude the indigenous population from access to the first European settlement
in South Africa and its lands, water and grazing. The time of domination ended on February 2 1990,
when, on behalf of the government and the Whites of South Africa, President FW de Klerk effectively
abdicated from power.
Beginning in 1999 and continuing to the present, I have photographed some structures that are
eloquent of our still nascent democracy. In the belief that in what we build we express much about
what we value, I have looked at South African structures as declarations of our value systems, our
ethos.
Here are a few of those photographs.” - David Goldblatt, 2014

118 | Fine Art

Fine Art | 119

Sue Williamson is a renowned figure in the South African and international art scene, and has exhibited in multiple
institutions, biennales and solo shows across the world. Her work, spanning across many media, has most recently
been featured at the Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, The National Museum for Women in the Arts, USA, and the Kochi
Biennale, India1.
A Few South Africans (1983-88) is a series which the artist notes, “attempted to make visible the history of women
involved in the struggle for freedom [against apartheid]... The work asks questions about civic (and representational)
duty and memorialisation.” Wiliamson continues, “An important part of the history of this series is that they were
printed as postcards, in order to make the images widely accessible to the general public.”2
This lot features a portrait of Mariam Makeba. The Johannesburg songstress was banned from South Africa in 1960
and her passport withdrawn when she provided the United Nations with evidence against the oppression occurring
in South Africa3. Annie Salinga, whose portrait by Williamson is featured in an additional lot, is accompanied by a
poster-size autobiographical text. The statement frames Salinga as a staunch activist who vowed never to use an
apartheid-issued identity pass (or ‘dompas’) which would dictate where she could live and work.
The central portrait are a photo-etching, alongside other techniques such as aquatint and hardground. Some of the
imagery on the printed frames is derived from African textiles with additional smaller images added. - L. D.

1 Goodman Gallery, “Sue Williamson.”
2 Goodman Gallery, “Sue Williamson (A Few South Africans artist statement).”
3 Sue-Williamson.com, “Miriam Makeba – A Few South Africans.

120 | Fine Art

462 463

462 463

Sue (Susan Mary) Williamson Sue (Susan Mary) Williamson
(South African 1941 - ) (South African 1941 - )

MIRIAM MAKEBA, from A FEW SOUTH AFRICANS ANNIE SILINGA, from A FEW SOUTH AFRICANS,
and accompanied by Annie Silinga’s Biographical Statement, two
signed, dated ‘88 and editioned 23/35 in pencil in the
margin signed, dated ‘83 and editioned 8/30 in pencil in the margin;
photoetching, silkscreen and collage on paper biographical is unsigned
sheet size: 80 by 61cm photoetching, silkscreen and collage on paper
sheet size: 70 by 51,5cm; sheet size: 98,5 by 68,5cm, respectively (2)
R 15 000 - R 22 000
PROVENANCE
Association of Arts

R 15 000 - R 22 000

Fine Art | 121

465 464

466 Tracey Derrick
122 | Fine Art (South African 1961 - )

OOM PAUL HEYNS

signed, dated 2002 and editioned 2/12; bears
the inscription on the reverse: Oom Paul Heyns
2002 from the series “Earth Works” Died in 2003
of lung cancer, people think he was 52 years old.
The workers graveyard of generations was dug
up to build a dam, no-one could stop it.
silver gelatin print
plate size: 50,5 by 60,5cm

R 20 000 - R 30 000

465

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef
(South African 1886 - 1957)

CAPE DUTCH HOUSE KROMMERIVIER

signed and inscribed with the title in pencil in
the margin; signed with the printer’s mark on the
plate
linocut
sheetsize: 21,5 by 34cm

R 12 000 - R 18 000

466

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef
(South African 1886 - 1957)

OU HUIS RUSTENBURG, TVL

signed and inscribed with the title in pencil in the
margin; stamped with the printer’s mark on the
plate
linocut
sheet size: 13,5 by 23cm

LITERATURE
NILANT 47

R 15 000 - R 20 000

467
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef
(South African 1886 - 1957)
LANDSCAPE WITH COTTAGE AMONGST TREES
signed and dated 1920 with pencil in the margin;
E. Schweickerdt Fine Art Dealer label adhered to
the reverse
etching
sheet size: 10 by 14,5cm
R 20 000 - R 30 000

467
468
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef
(South African 1886 - 1957)
COTTAGE
signed, dated 1929 and inscibed with the title in
pencil in the margin; signed on the plate
linocut
sheet size: 17 by 28cm
R 15 000 - R 20 000

468
Fine Art | 123

124 | Fine Art

Van Wouw was born in Driebergen in the Netherlands in 1865 and immigrated to South Africa in 1890.
On 26 October 1906 in the boardroom of the Transvaal Bank, a meeting was held which can probably
be seen as one of the most important meetings in the career of the South African sculptor Anton
van Wouw. The meeting in question was held to create a fund or a syndicate with the sole purpose
of assisting Van Wouw in “carrying out his profession”. In the forthcoming agreement it was agreed
that Mr. van Wouw would be paid by the fund the sum of £50 per month, from 1 November 1906 to 31
October 1908 to create sculptures. For the fund Anton van Wouw created the following works, Kruger
in Exile, Bad News, Sleeping Black Man, Mealie Pap Eater, Dagga Smoker, Boer Girl, Schapu Player,
Basotho Witness and the Shangaan. They also purchased the rights to cast the Hunter.
Between 1908 and 1926, 23 of the Shangaan was cast at Giovanni Nisini in Rome, the documents on
how many was cast at Massa has never been found. It is currently not known when exactly Van Wouw
stopped using Nisini and started using Massa to cast but the last known Nisini cast dates 1928 and
the earliest known Galileo Massa dates from 1936, it is known however that in 1938 Van Wouw still
used Massa as a foundry. This can be seen from Van Wouw’s last Will and Testament where he lists
all the sculptures at the Massa Foundry. Interestingly enough it is also today known that Massa was
the successor of Nisini as they used the same address, namely Via Del Babuino 64/65 Rome. This
sculpture of the Shangaan was cast at Massa, then somewhere in the 1930s. Although created in 1907
the first publication with a photograph of this work is in The State of June 1910 - Gerard de Kamper

Fine Art | 125

469

Anton van Wouw
(South African 1862 - 1945)

SHANGAAN

signed, dated 1907 and inscribed ‘s.a. joh-burg’;
inscribed with ‘FOUNDRY-G. MASSA-ROMA’
bronze Massa casting
height: 31cm

R 600 000 - R 900 000

126 | Fine Art

Fine Art | 127

470 470
Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk
471 (South African 1853 - 1936)
128 | Fine Art LANGEBERG MOUNTAINSCAPE
signed
oil on canvas
37 by 60cm
R 40 000 - R 60 000

471
Brian Bradshaw
(South African 1923 - )
ISINGO AND WORLD ROCK
signed
oil on canvas
109,5 by 140cm
R 8 000 - R 12 000

472
Adriaan Hendrik Boshoff
(South African 1935 - 2007)
CLOUDY LANDSCAPE WITH FOUR FIGURES
signed
oil on canvas laid down on board
33 by 58,5cm
PROVENANCE
Drostdy Gallery
R 40 000 - R 60 000

472

473
Tinus de Jongh
(South African 1885 - 1942)
CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN
signed
oil on canvas
30 by 48,5cm
R 25 000 - R 40 000

473

Fine Art | 129

474 474

475 Alick Riddel Sturrock
130 | Fine Art (British 1885 - 1953)

ELIBANK ON TWEE

signed and dated 1913
oil on canvas
95 by 110,5cm

R 10 000 - R 15 000

Edinburgh-born artist, Alick Riddell Sturrock was
an acclaimed landscape painter, who depicted
softly-lit scenes of the Dorset countryside and the
Scottish borders. As a young man, Sturrock had
apprenticed under lithographers before going on
to study at the Edinburgh College of Art. Both a
member of the ‘Edinburgh Group’ and Secretary-
Treasurer of the Royal Scottish Academy, he
exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal
Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours, and
at various intuitions in the United Kingdom.

The artist was drawn to rural subject matter –
farmhouses, cottages, villages, and bodies of
water – which invites the viewer to contemplate
the natural beauty of his surrounds. His later
work, which sought to represent war scenes,
often included a camouflage pattern in the
brushwork.

This specific work is characteristic of Sturrock’s
harmonious style of which he predominantly
executed in oil paint. He has been compared to
painter, John Nash, albeit leaning more towards
Impressionism in manner. This lot features a
charming scene of a bend in the River Tweed
on the secluded Elibank Estate on the Scottish
Borders. - L.D.

- The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh, “Alick Riddell Sturrock RSA.”

475

Otto Landsberg
(South Africa 1803 - 190)

PRUSSIAN LANDSCAPE WITH CASTLE AND
FISHERMAN

signed and dated 1865
oil on canvas
99,5 by 127,5cm

R 40 000 - R 60 000

476
Conrad Nagel Doman Theys
(South African 1940 - )
STILL LIFE WITH FLOWERS
signed and dated 1989
pastel on paper
35 by 30cm
R 15 000 - R 22 000

476
477
Penny Stutterheim
(South African 1958 - )
PINK SUNSET AT SEA
oil on canvas
90 by 120cm
R 20 000 - R 30 000

477
Fine Art | 131

478 479

478 479
William Charles Thomas Dobson Continental School
(German 1817 - 1898) (18th Century)
A VENETIAN GIRL PORTRAIT OF A LADY
label adhered to the reverse, inscribed oil on canvas
with the title and artist’s name 52 by 43cm
pastel on paper PROVENANCE
49,5 by 38cm Inherited, thence by descent
R 8 000 - R 12 000
R 15 000 - R 20 000
132 | Fine Art

480 481

480 481
European School
(Late 19th Century) Hennie Nieman Snr
PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN (South African 1941 - )
oil on canvas
59 by 49,5cm CLOWN WITH FLUTE
R 8 000 - R 12 000
signed and dated ‘87; inscribed with the title and
artist’s name on the reverse
oil on canvas laid down on board
60 by 50cm

R 15 000 - R 22 000

Fine Art | 133

134 | Fine Art

Gerard Sekoto’s substantial art career began in South Africa where In the painting Market Scene, all of the figures are painted in black with
he exhibited, and was a part of the ‘New Group’. In 1947 Sekoto had a highlights of primary colours, they appear virtually silhouetted against a
successful solo exhibition at Christies Galleries in Pretoria and a near sell-out colourful, bright yellow background, with an accompanying bold white
solo exhibition at the Gainsborough Galleries in Johannesburg. At the age house with red roof. The two women in the forefront are engaged in
of 33, Sekoto used what he made from these exhibitions to fund his trip to conversation. They both wear long skirts and headscarves. From their
Paris. He travelled by ship which docked at London where he spent three simplified, outlined shapes we can make out the stance of each figure.
weeks. An exhibition of South African Art was being held at the Tate Gallery The figure on the right points at her counterpart as if accusing her or
in London at the time and one of Sekoto’s paintings was being exhibited. emphasising a point. Her other hand rests on her hip, as if she is asserting
Sekoto continued with his art production when he moved to Paris in 1947. herself. The same dark blues and black that describe the figures are echoed
in the stormy sky that hangs over the scene. The sky is painted with
While in South Africa Sekoto’s work revealed a complete involvement and tumultuous brushstrokes, as if it is about to erupt, elevating the tension in
identification with his subject matter. During his time in exile he continued the scene.
to recreate images of life in South Africa, but identified with his work less
and less. According to Barbara Lindop, a long time friend and proponent of The primary colours which starkly contrast with each other in Market Scene
Sekoto’s work, he felt obliged to paint what the public expected of him as are even more exaggerated than the colours he was using in other paintings
a black South African artist. “As the years went by, Sekoto was not able to he was producing at the time.
remember the vivid and particular detail that personalized his early work
and made it so remarkable: even his powerful use of colour and its contrasts Even though there are many sketches that remain that Sekoto made of
faded into an ordinariness in his later years.” 1 studies of Parisian life, visitors to his studio at the time reported a number
of paintings of Paris street scenes. So the South African subject matter that
Evidence of Sekoto’s gradual withdrawal from his life in South Africa Sekoto portrayed as a means of exercising his memory of his home country
can be found in his paintings from the 1950s and 1960s where, despite were not all that occupied the artist’s time in his studio.
making many sketches of characters he witnessed on the Parisian streets,
Sekoto painted numerous scenes of South African townships. During this While Sekoto was in exile, his work was included in a number of South
period his use of colour combinations and tones changed dramatically. African art exhibitions, held both locally and internationally. These
The individualised subjects that he painted while in South Africa slowly exhibitions included the Exhibition of Contemporary South African Paintings,
diminished and his paintings produced during his early years in exile Drawings and Sculpture organised by the South African Association of Arts
resembled anonymous, idealised subjects. During this period the township which opened at the Tate Gallery in London. This exhibition travelled to the
residents that he portrayed gradually lost their idiosyncrasies and became Netherlands, Belgium, France, Canada and the USA, before it was exhibited
faceless, as if Sekoto’s memory of the nuances of Township life were fading. at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town. - S.D.

Lindop, B. Sekoto: The Art of Gerard Sekoto. Great Britain: 1995.

Fine Art | 135

482

Gerard Sekoto
(South African 1913 - 1993)

MARKET SCENE

signed
oil on canvas
63 by 78,5cm

R 700 000 - R 900 000

136 | Fine Art

Fine Art | 137

483

George Mnyalaza Milwa Pemba
(South Africa 1912 - 2001)

XHOSA WOMAN

signed and dated 53
watercolour and pencil on paper
32 by 23,5cm

R 40 000 - R 60 000

George Pemba was a gifted water colourist and
during the late 1940’s and 1950’s he produced
a series of portrait studies of kinsmen around
his home of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.
Born into a Xhosa lineage, George Pemba skilfully
depicted his subjects dressed in the ceremonial
attire that was current at the time. This delicate
rendering of an Eastern Cape woman, reveals
through her costume that she is married and
quite senior. Her headdress is fashioned from a
square of woollen Melton cloth in dark brown,
machine decorated with white stitching and
bundled voluminously on top of her head in a
turban style called isitafu.

She is wearing a cloak or cotton wrap coloured
with ochre and embellished with machine–sewn
bands of tape called ibhayi. Snippets of a black
and white tobacco bag (iposi) – an essential
and prestigious element of her costume – is
evident over her arm in the lower left corner. As a
respectable matron she has adorned herself with
a ceremonial bead collar (icansi) made from tiny
Venetian seed beads, imported in profusion at
the time. Over it is placed the piece de resistence
– the keeper of her heart or love letter (iphoco)
- presented to her by a loved one to protect and
affirm her wherever she may go.

Ignored for many years, George Pemba finally
received acclaim as a significant and authentic
documenter of mid-century life in South Africa.
He was posthumously honoured with the State
Presidents highest award of merit – The Order of
Ikhamenga. - C.K.

Kaufmann, C. 1993. .Catalogue List, 85-112 in Ezakwantu Beadwork
from the Eastern Cape. South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
Proud, Hayden & Feinberg, Barry (eds.) 1996. George Milwa Mnyaluza

138 | Fine Art

484
Norman Clive Catherine
(South African 1949 - )
FERD THE THIRD. KING OF FOOK ISLAND
signed, dated 88 and inscribed with the title
mixed media on paper
38 by 52,2cm
PROVENANCE
Gifted to the owner’s family by the artist, thence
by descent
R 30 000 - R 50 000

484
485
Jan Vermeiren
(South African 1949 - )
LADY IN BLUE
signed
oil on canvas
89,5 by 69,5cm
R 30 000 - R 50 000

485
Fine Art | 139

486

William Kentridge
(South African 1955 - )

WOMAN IN SWIMSUIT, from
DOMESTIC SCENES series

signed, dated ‘79 and editioned AP
soft ground etching
sheet size: 25 by 20cm

R 40 000 - R 60 000

This particular work is an artist proof from
William Kentridge’s Domestic Scenes series (1979
- 1980), which was based on two collaborative
theatre productions of which the artist was a
part, namely Security (1979) and Dikhitsheneng
(1980)1. The latter translates to, “in the kitchens”,
from which Kentridge has conceptualised
scenes featuring rotund, caricature-like domestic
workers, placing the etchings on the border of
satire. The images draw sharp attention to these
domestic contact zones during the apartheid era.

This specific print, Women in Swimsuit, depicts
a figure performing a handstand, which may be
interpreted as an allegory for the performative
tricks that domestic workers did, and were
requested to do, for their masters. Domestic
Scenes (1979 - 80) is one of Kentridge’s earlier
print series, which has been printed by the artist
himself. The series of approximately 40 images
was created at the etching press at Johannesburg
Art Foundation. Although, Kentridge admits that
he did not complete printing the entire edition as
he claims, “…to do thirty prints also seemed like
an act of hubris.”2 - L.D.

1 Art in Print, “William Kentridge: Drawing Has its Own Memory.”
2 William Kentridge, William Kentridge Prints (Johannesburg: David
Krut Publishing, 2006), 26 – 29.

140 | Fine Art

487 488

487 488
Sydney Goldblatt Lucas Tandokwazi Sithole
(South African 1919 - 1979) (South African 1931 - 1994)
ABSTRACT WITH BLACK FIGURE ABSENT MINDED
signed signed; label inscribed with the title and artist’s
mixed media on canvas board name on the base
39 by 40cm wood on liquid steel base
height: 38cm
R 15 000 - R 22 000 R 60 000 - R 90 000

Fine Art | 141

489 490 491

489 490 Carl Adolph Büchner
Abram Salm (South African 1921 - 2003)
Sydney Goldblatt (Dutch 1801 - 1876)
(South African 1919 - 1979) GUNUNG MERAPI, JAVA MALAY GIRL
ABSTRACT WITH GREEN FIGURES oil on board
signed 34 by 54,5cm signed
mixed media on paper R 100 000 - R 150 000 oil on canvas
36 by 48cm 74,5 by 48,5cm

R 15 000 - R 22 000 ILLUSTRATED ON OPPOSITE PAGE

R 30 000 - R 50 000

142 | Fine Art

491 492

492 Jamalie Hassan is a Canadian-born artist with an Arabic background. Hassan has had a distinguished
career in Canadian art with multiple exhibitions, commissions and awards. Her work is concerned with
Jamelie Hassan the consequence of displacement of people through slavery, colonial occupation, exile, migration and
(Lebanese/ Canadian 1948 - ) transient culture.

‫(ي‬MANUSCRIPT PAGE) (2009) ‫( ي‬Manuscript Page) (2009) was produced for the original international biennale exhibition Imaging the
Book held at the Alexandria National Library in Egypt. In 2009 it was included in a seminal exhibition,
label adhered on the reverse inscribed with the At the Far Edge of Words, shown in three major University Art Galleries in Canada from 2009 – 2012.
title and artwork details
phtographic print mounted on board, fitted with For this work, Hassan rendered the last letter of the Arabic alphabet ‫ ي‬- pronounced “yaa” – in red
neon neon light and mounted on the page of a Persian/Arabic grammar manuscript illustrated with the
54 by 75,5cm Archangel Gabriel. ‫( ي‬Manuscript Page) alludes to the process of writing and reading the ornate
calligraphy of the Arabic script while the red colour of the neon tubing refers to the red ink used to
PROVENANCE highlight the beginning of a new thought, or to signify punctuation. - C.K.
Purchased from the artist
i Jamelie Hassan: At the far Edge of Words (2009) p.17-31. Exhibition catalogue. Museum London, London Ontario, Canada
R 10 000 - R 15 000

Fine Art | 143

144 | Fine Art

Much like the French post-impressionist artist Paul Signac a generation a boat, while more dhows lie at anchor in the bay. This work has never
beforehand, Irma Stern loved to paint boats and she sought out the been seen beyond her first Zanzibar exhibition in 1940 in Johannesburg
picturesque in ports, harbours and rivers on her travels. The artist at the Preview of her Exhibition of Paintings from Zanzibar, Tuesday
recorded her impressions of water-borne vessels either sailing, docked December 3rd at 4:00 pm. Gainsborough Galleries, Johannesburg.
in port or casually beached in oils, gouaches and drawings, In an age of
ocean travel, each view marked the stages of her frequent journeys up The exhibition was a heady success for Irma, following on from the
both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts of Africa to Europe and the pivotal Cape Town showing of her work at Martin Melk House in
Mediterranean beyond. December 1939, where the iconic Arab Priest was sold. Johannesburg
critics praised her new Zanzibar work, and in her press clippings book
Seeking diversion at the outbreak of World War II from the dreary there are two reviews that mention Arab Dhows specifically:
isolation of Cape Town society, Irma Stern sailed away to the Indian
Ocean island of Zanzibar in September 1939. She travelled from Cape In a piece titled Arresting Picture Exhibition, (Rand Daily Mail of
Town Docks on the Dunvegan Castle to Dar es Salaam where she December 4th, 1940) the critic L.S. writes:
disembarked to a ferry able to navigate the shallower waters around
the archipelago. It is most likely that one of the first sights that greeted The remarkable lightness of style she shows in some of her tempura
her arrival was a fleet of Arab dhows1 sailing and sheltering in the like “Street in Zanzibar” are vibrant with atmosphere, and “Arab
surrounding bays and coves. Dhows” done with almost careless freedom”.

Her lengthy sojourn in 1939 was a great success and she was energized On 6th December 1940 (The Zionist Recorder) observed:
and excited by the exotic life she encountered there. That experience, …amongst her collection of tempera paintings “In the Bazaar”, “Arab
followed by an adventurous exploration of the Congo in 1942, kept the Dhows”….at once hold the eye by the deftness of their execution
artist creatively occupied until the end of the war, when she returned
to Zanzibar once more in 1945. Her impressions were recorded in her Irma Stern was an astute business woman recording each sale in her
artistic output - paintings, gouaches and drawings – and also in a series ledger book in her distinctive hand, No 33 in the catalogue Arab Dhows
of letters and her now famous book Zanzibar, published in 1948. This was sold in December 1940 to :
period of intense productivity and subsequent commercial success
marks her golden period, the highlight of the artist’s career. Miss B. McLeod, Kingsborough, Main Ave. Reviera, Johb. To be paid
at 4 Guineas per month.
As a cultured and well-read woman, Irma Stern was familiar with the
antiquity and significance of the Omani Arab maritime trade on the The work was dutifully paid off as promised by a young actress as a gift
Swahili Coast. A heady mix of Arab, African and Indian cultures in for her father.
the southern Indian Ocean region coalesced in Zanzibar from 10th
century AD. As the last port of call for the Arabian dhows before sailing Since that time the work has remained as the property of her heirs
the treacherous waters of the Mozambique Channel, it was also the and has never been sold or publicly seen previously. Therefore, it gives
destination of larger, open ocean ships sailing from the Malabar Coast us great pleasure to debut Arab Dhows to the art loving public and in
of India particular collectors of important works by Africa’s most acclaimed
woman artist, Irma Stern. - C.K.
Propelled by the Monsoon winds in a seasonal round, sailors from
Oman and the Arabian Peninsula linked the East African coast to the An impeccable provenance – Irma Stern’s Arab Dhows
trading entrepots of the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and the Indian by Bryan Rostron
Ocean World as far as China.
This painting has always been in our family. It was bought at Irma
In her travelogue Zanzibar published after a second visit to the island in Stern’s Johannesburg “Zanzibar” exhibition in 1940 by my mother,
1945, the artist reflects on the reach and antiquity of Arab dhows piled the actress Barbara Macleod, as a present for her father, Lewis Rose
with exotic trade wares: Macleod, then editor of the Rand Daily Mail. The sale price was 12
guineas, which she paid in installments – scrupulously, according to
With the East trade wind the dhows come down from Arabia and Persia Irma Stern’s records - at four pounds a month.
to Zanzibar to trade filled with goods such as coffee, spices, dates.
Persian prayer rugs, antique copper vessels and Lamu pottery (Chinese On the death of Lewis Rose Macleod in 1941, this Irma Stern painting
pottery made for the Arabs). The dhows are also loaded with ghee and passed to my mother, Barbara Rostron, and on her death in 2004, it
other eastern foods, with silks from India and China, with shawls from passed to me, Bryan Rostron, her only child.
Cashmir, with brocades and jewels from Ceylon. The Arabs come down
to Zanzibar for half a year, trade their goods, and leave again just before 1 - The Swahili word ‘dhow’ is a generic term for the pre-European ships of the Indian Ocean.
the commencement of the westerly monsoon. The heavy wooden Traditionally these dhows were sewn together using coconut coir (fibre) that was a medieval
dhows hewn out by hand from solid blocks of wood are packed with practice. The dhows are typically rigged with a lateen sail, which is the classic triangular-shaped
corn, millet, calico and other western products – and lately even with sail attached to a cross beam that is raised and lowered according to the winds. Boats range in size
old motor cars! from small fishermen’s boats to vessels over a hundred feet long.
Fresh insight into Irma Stern’s Indian Ocean world is provided by the
recently rediscovered Arab Dhows (1939), a golden and aqua infused Berman. M. 2003. Remembering Irma. Irma Stern: A memoir with letters. Double Storey Books.
gouache, signed and dated by the artist. Cape Town.

Presenting a view of beached dhows in a sandy Zanzibar cove with Kaufmann, C. 2015. Zanzibar and the Swahili Coast. In Kaufmann, Carol and Lewis.A.eds. Brushing up
luminous Indian Ocean beyond, one of two foreground figures repaints on Stern. Iziko Museums. Cape Town. ( P.65)

Klopper, S. 2017. Irma Stern Are you still alive? Stern’s life and art seen through her letters to Richard
and Freda Feldman, 1934-1966.Orisha Publishing. Cape Town. ( P.92)

National Library of South Africa (Cape Town Campus). Irma Stern Archive.

Stern.I. 1948. Zanzibar. Van Schaik, Pretoria. Fine Art | 145

493

Irma Stern
(South African 1894 - 1966)

ARAB DHOWS

signed and dated 1939
gouache on card
49 by 61,5cm

R 700 000 - R 900 000

146 | Fine Art

Fine Art | 147

494 494

495 Fred Hutchinson Page
148 | Fine Art (South African 1908 - 1984)

CHAPEL STREET WITH LAMP POST

signed, editioned 7/20 and inscribed with
the title in pencil in the margin
linocut
sheet size: 28 by 36,5cm

R 9 000 - R 12 000

495

Fred Hutchinson Page
(South African 1908 - 1984)

THE HILL

signed editioned 5/20 and inscribed with
the title in pencil in the margin
linocut
29,5 by 30,5cm

R 9 000 - R 12 000

Fred Page is regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost
Surrealist painters. He was inspired by the architectural
features of his surroundings, which he typically conveyed as
simplified white walls and stark black windows.

The titular street in Page’s print Chapel Street with Lampost
may be referring to the Chapel Street that still exists in
Zonnebloem, Cape Town. At the time the print was produced
the street would have been a part of the historically
significant District Six, a culturally rich suburb that espoused
the ethos of the Apartheid era by being an area where
cultures co-existed peacefully, which ultimately fell top the
fate of forced removals.

During the time that he lived in Port Elizabeth between
1947 and 1980, Page was fascinated by the streetscapes,
particularly the suburbs of Central and South End, of which
his extensive paintings and prints provide an accurate visual
record. Much of Port Elizabeth changed since Page produced
his artworks, due to modernisation and forced removals.
The Port Elizabeth that Page knew was built in a row of
hills. At the time the town consisted of several small villages,
complete with their own churches, schools and shops which
serviced them.

In both prints, the signature haunted quality of Page’s work
emanates from the stark, empty architectural structures.
Both of the structures represented in Chapel Street with
Lampost and The Hill, if they still remain, would have been
greatly impacted by the forced removals and similar events
that would alter the geographical layout of many of South
Africa’s cities under the Apartheid Government. - S.D.

Wright J and Kerbel C: Fred Page: Ringmaster of the Imagination. Port Elizabeth:
Cader Printers