A string of discoveries
Koller's Old Master Paintings department has made a string of important discoveries within the past decade. Most recently, a sublime early still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder was spotted by a Koller specialist in a private collection. The work had been estimated at less than EUR 100 000 by a rival auction house, but Koller realized that its true worth was in the millions, and sold it in September 2008 for CHF 5.77 million (EUR 3.62 million).

Discoveries such as these are only possible with a dedicated, knowledgeable and open-minded team of specialists. Koller's Old Master Paintings department has proven time and again that with exacting research, precise cataloguing and international publicity and marketing, quality paintings sell in Zurich for equal or even higher prices than in London or New York.

Next auction: 22 March 2013

Previews
Zurich: 9 to 17 March 2013
Geneva: 21/22 February 2013 (highlights)
Düsseldorf: 28 February to 1 March
(highlights)


Old Masters - 22. March 2013 / Highlights Online Katalog   PDF Katalog

A number of works from the collection of the top Berlin fashion designer and art collector Wolfgang Joop will be offered at the forthcoming auction of Old Master paintings. The works consist mostly of 17th century Dutch floral still lifes, including four works by the Antwerp master Nicolas van Veerendael (1626-1691). The works will be offered at auction with estimates of between CHF 30 000 and 50 000. The work with the highest estimate dates, however, from the Renaissance and is by the late 15th century Flemish painter known as the Master of Frankfurt. The work, entitled "Allegory of Love" painted on panel and with colourful detailing, is estimated by Koller at CHF 250 000 to 350 000 (lot 3046). A further highlight of the collection is the depiction of an elegant gathering in the countryside by Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695-1736), who learned his craft at the school of the famous Rococo painter Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and who counted Frederic the Great as one of his patrons. The painting, entitled "Fête Champêtre", is estimated at CHF 80 000 to 120 000 (lot 3038). A further important still life of flowers with a stone plaque by Simon Pietersz Verelst (1644-1710) will be offered at auction with an estimate of CHF 60 000 to 80 000 (lot 3041).

  • A164 / 3046
    MASTER OF FRANKFURT

    (active in Antwerp, circa 1460)
    Allegory of love.
    Oil on panel.
    24.8x128.3 cm.

    CHF 250 000 / 350 000
    (Detail, please click on the picture for the complete image.)
  • A164 / 3038
    JEAN-BAPTISTE PATER

    (Valenciennes 1695-1736 Paris)
    Fête champêtre.
    Oil on canvas.
    89x110 cm.

    CHF 80 000 / 120 000
  • A164 / 3041
    SIMON PIETERSZ. VERELST

    (Den Hague 1644-1721 London)
    Roses, irides, poppies, peonies and pinks
    in a vase on a stone plate.
    Oil on canvas.
    59.7x49.5 cm.

    CHF 60 000 / 80 000
  • A164 / 3042
    NICOLAES VAN VEERENDAEL

    (1640 Antwerp 1691)
    Flower bouquet with roses and tulips.
    Oil on canvas.
    48x31 cm.

    CHF 35 000 / 50 000

Old Masters - 22. March 2013 / Highlights of other provenances Online Katalog  PDF Katalog
Alongside the paintings from the collection of Wolfgang Joop further prominent Old Master paintings will be auctioned at Koller, for example the still life "Woven basket with fruits on a table top with insects" by Isaac Soreau (lot 3034). The painting, examined by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bott in 2002, was consigned to Koller from a private collection of many years and can now be offered at auction for CHF 240 000 / 280 000. The much-published painting "Noble woman at a table with lute and sheet music" by the Netherlands painter Eglon Henrik van der Neer from 1667 was hitherto known to leading experts only through its documentation. It was rediscovered this year in a Swiss private collection by Koller and estimated at CHF 200 000 / 300 000 (lot 3058). The oil on copper painting by Guido Reni (1575-1642) active in Rome and Bologna, depicting the Assumption of Mary, had remained for over forty years in a private collection. The panel is seen as a significant example of Reni’s early work, which brings together the influences of his teachers with his own style. This work will be auctioned with an estimate of CHF 80 000 / 120 000 (lot 3023).
  • A164 / 3034
    ISAAC SOREAU

    (1604 Hanau a.M. after 1638)
    Basket with fruits on a table with insects.
    Oil on panel.
    38.5x56 cm.

    CHF 240 000 / 280 000
  • A164 / 3058
    EGLON HENRIK VAN DER NEER

    (Amsterdam 1635/36-1703 Düsseldorf)
    Noble lady with lute and sheets of music, sitting on a table. Ca. 1667.
    Oil on panel.
    Signed and dated: E. van der Neer. 1667/9 (?).
    31.6x28.8 cm.

    CHF 200 000 / 300 000
  • A164 / 3023
    GUIDO RENI

    (Calvenzano 1575-1642 Bologna)
    The Assumption.
    Oil on copper.
    58x44.4 cm.

    CHF 80 000 / 120 000
  • A164 / 3061
    JOHANNES VAN DER AST

    (before 1593-1618 or a bit later)
    Flowers in a glass vase on a table with butterfly.
    Oil on panel.
    30.6x23 cm.

    CHF 100 000 / 150 000