South Africa

Two private collections of South African art have yielded works by some of the leading names in the market to Strauss’ sale in Cape Town on March 18.

Today marks World Book Day, and while the occasion is aimed at young people, it could also be a chance for rare book collectors to take stock of their libraries and investigate some top lots in store at future auctions.

A portrait of an old man attributed to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) has emerged at South African saleroom Stephan Welz & Co.

A signed copy of the South African classic, ‘Jock of the Bushveld’ by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, with an inscription describing it as “the first copy” of the book is being offered in an online sale ending this week.

A new auction house has been set up in South Africa. Aspire Art Auctions will hold their inaugural sale in Johannesburg on October 31.

South African auction house Strauss & Co have made a number of appointments to its board in the wake of the death of founding managing director, Stephan Welz at the end of last year.

Last October, South Africa House in Trafalgar Square, London hosted an exhibition of artworks in the image of, and inspired by, Nelson Mandela.

The growing importance of Chinese buyers in South Africa has led Ricus Dullaert of icons specialists Kunsthandel H.W.C Dullaert to employ a specialist Chinese speaker to help bridge the language divide.

This Saturday, Provenance Auction House of Cape Town will sell the first instalment of an extraordinary collection of 300 bells formed by the late Keith Blumgart.

FOUR centuries of social, commercial and military history dictate that South Africa is just occasionally the source of rare European antiques and works of art.

IN the space of a fortnight, prices at the top end for South African art took a significant leap forward as the auction record for the Grande Dame of the market, Irma Stern (1894-1966), was broken twice, first in Cape Town and then in London.

ARTINSURE have secured an arrangement to act as specialist insurance product provider to the South African Antique Dealers’ Association.

GOING further afield, The South African Antique Dealers Association hold their national fair in Cape Town on February 19 and 20 with a gala opening on the evening of February 18.

The perennial and international popularity of the radially expanding dining table was underlined in South Africa when Stephan Welz & Co (in association with Sotheby’s) sold this William IV circular extending dining table by Johnstone, Jupe and Co for R950,000 (£84,820), plus 10 per cent premium, in Cape Town on March 30.

SOUTH AFRICA: A new auction house is opening in South Africa. Charles Rudd, who for the past seven years was an auctioneer and valuer at Ashbey’s Galleries in Cape Town, plans to conduct his own regular monthly catalogue sales in Cape Town starting on February 3.