THE AGE OF COPPER: A BRILLIANT BACKGROUND FOR PAINTINGS
JOHANN KÖNIG
St Geroge and the dragon
Oil on copper. 14.7 × 21.2 cm.
Estimate: CHF 300 000 / 500 000
Auction on 22 March 2024
Our March Old Masters auction features a significant number of small-format paintings on copper. Throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods, most artists employed either canvas or wood panels. From the latter half of the 16th century, however, an increasing number of artists began painting on copper, for reasons related to practicality, effect, and the tastes of their time.
SORMANI & CO. AND THE BIRTH OF FURNITURE HISTORY
A TRANSITION STYLE COMMODE «À LA GRECQUE»
Paris circa 1870
Estimate: CHF 10 000 / 15 000
Auction: 21 March 2024
Before the reign of Louis-Philippe (ruled 1830–1848), knowledge of furniture history was sketchy at best. Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, fashion reigned, and as furniture went out of style it was either put away or given away to make room for the latest trend. It was unthinkable to furnish a stylish home with pieces from an earlier period – just as it would have been unthinkable to dress in the style of a previous fashion.
When Louis-Philippe took the throne, he made plans to restore and refurnish the châteaux of France that had been emptied during the revolution. This wasn’t wholly due to patriotism or a love of history – he also had a personal agenda.
TEACHING CANARIES TO SING
AN IMPORTANT LANDSCAPE REDISCOVERED: HERCULES SEGERS
HERCULES PIETERSZ. SEGERS
(Haarlem circa 1589–um 1640 The Hague)
A forest path. 1618–20.
Oil on canvas on panel. 16 × 22.4 cm.
Estimate: CHF 350 000 / 500 000
Auction on 22 March 2024
This landscape is a significant addition to the very few known oil paintings by Hercules Segers, an important Dutch artist of the Golden Age. Although a number of forest paintings by Segers are mentioned in old sources, this depiction of a winding forest path is the only surviving example of this genre by the artist.
Documented in several early inventories, its recent rediscovery in a Norwegian private collection is the result of art-historical detective work and fortunate circumstances.
The T. rex 'Trinity' will be exhibited in the Dinosaur Museum in Aathal, Switzerland
Sauriermuseum Aathal, Zürichstrasse 69,
8607 Aathal, Switzerland
Tel. +41 44 932 14 18, dino@sauriermuseum.ch
www.sauriermuseum.ch
TRX-293 TRINITY, the world-famous Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that the Phoebus Foundation purchased at Koller Auctions in April 2023, will be exhibited at the Dinosaur Museum in Aathal, Switzerland, for one year beginning on 23 January 2024.
It will be several years before Trinity's permanent home – an Art Deco skyscraper in the heart of Antwerp that the Phoebus Foundation is transforming into an international arts centre designed by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind – will be ready to house the gigantic fossil. In the meantime, the Phoebus Foundation wanted Trinity to be available to the public and for scientific research, and the Dinosaur Museum will be the first museum to display Trinity during this period, thanks to the initiative and mediation of Koller Auctions and Christian Link's Wunderkammer.
After enchanting tens of thousands of visitors during the pre-auction exhibition organised by Koller and Wunderkammer at the Zurich Tonhalle concert hall last spring, Trinity will soon be the star of the Aathal museum from late January 2024, for approximately one year. The team of the Dinosaur Museum was responsible for the construction of Trinity for the Tonhalle exhibition, and gave generously of their technical expertise throughout the cataloguing process. 'We are thrilled to welcome Trinity to our museum and to allow the public as well as the scientific community to spend time with this magnificent specimen', said Dr Hans-Jakob Siber, founder and director of the Dinosaur Museum. 'We have already spent so much time with this dinosaur that in a way it feels like welcoming back an old friend'.
Dr Katharina Van Cauteren, Chief of Staff of the Chancellery of the Phoebus Foundation, said, 'We are delighted to be working with the Dinosaur Museum. Trinity will be exhibited here amongst many other impressive dinosaurs, giving the public a unique opportunity to see the T. rex in context. At the same time, scientific research is being carried out that will allow us to learn even more about the find. Of course, we will also share this new information with the public as the project progresses. This is the beginning of an exciting new life for this ancient skeleton'.
HIGHLIGHTS VIDEOS, WINTER 2024 AUCTIONS
MONET AT THE DAWN OF IMPRESSIONISM
'THE BIRTH OF A NEW MANNER OF PAINTING'
Claude Monet's painting from 1875 is witness to the crucial early years of a group of painters who would become known as the Impressionists.
PAUL SIGNAC DEVELOPS HIS UNIQUE STYLE
'Signac reveals here his own unique interpretation of the early Impressionist manner of painting'.
In this early work, Paul Signac impressively demonstrates the specific style that was to make him one of the most important artists of his time.
GUSTAVE LOISEAU, MASTER OF COLOUR
'Full of tiny explosions of colour'
Loiseau demonstrates a masterful use of colour and impasto brushstrokes to create this glittering winter landscape.
THE SUMMIT OF LUXURY IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY
GLAMOUR AND SOPHISTICATION
Take a tour through this fascinating collection which assembles the very best of late 19th century luxury: exquisite gilt bronze, intricate marquetry, and the craft of French furniture and clock making at its finest. To be auctioned on 28 November.
A 600,000-YEAR-OLD PREDATOR
'A nice story of a battle-hardened veteran'
Dr Dennis Hansen and Christian Link examine a "very big kitty cat" from a long-ago time.
A GIANT T. REX FEMUR
'IT'S AS IF YOU DISCOVERED AN ANCIENT GREEK VASE FULLY INTACT, BUT 66 MILLION YEARS LATER'.
A beatifully conserved T. rex femur bone is the subject of this discussion by Dr Dennis Hansen and Christian Link.
A RARE CHANCE TO OWN A PIECE OF SPACE EXPLORATION HISTORY
ASTRONAUT GENNADY PADALKA'S SPACE-FLOWN WATCH
Christian Link presents the very Omega Speedmaster watch and Orlan space glove that Astronaut Gennady Padalka wore in space.
A WATCH THAT TRAVELLED TO SPACE
OMEGA SPEEDMASTER AND SIGNED ORLAN SPACE GLOVE
In this clip, we can see Gennady Padalka wearing the Omega Speedmaster watch from our upcoming auction as he floats through space.
TINY TEETH, BIG BITE
DIPLOCAULUS SKULL
Yolanda Schicker-Siber examines the 250 million-year-old skull of one of the most successful predators of the late Permian period.
LOVE YOUR PLANET | GERRY HOFSTETTER
AN ARTIST CONSTANTLY IN SEARCH OF AN EXTREME EXPERIENCE
A short introduction to the Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter, whose art print 'Love Your Planet' will be sold in the upcoming 'Out of This World' auction to benefit the project 'SOS World Tour 2025'.