“Come inside, bidding is hot online,” said auctioneer Susie Goodman to late arrivals entering Pierneef’s Kraal Guest Lodge, the former home and studio of much-admired landscape painter J.H. Pierneef and venue for Strauss & Co’s maiden live auction in Pretoria. The two-part auction commenced with a red-hot spotlight sale devoted to South African ceramics.

The 91 lots in Sculpted Narratives included seven works by artist-potter Hylton Nel, who recently returned from Paris following a high-profile collaboration with luxury fashion brand Dior. “Bidding is ferocious,” remarked Susie Goodman as rival online bidders chased after works by Nel. By the end of the sale all seven Nel lots had new owners.

The top-selling Nel work was a 1996 cat vase with blue spots and aperture in its ears, which sold to an online bidder for R175 875 / $9 622, a six-fold increment on the high estimate. The price confirms a huge upswing in interest in Nel registered earlier in July when Strauss & Co sold his sculpture Two Cats in Cape Town for R369 680 / $20 226. An undated Nel bowl with cat and flower motif in Sculpted Narratives sold after 21 bids for R52 763 / $2 887. Five lots by Nico Masemola, a promising protégé of Nel who died unexpectedly at age 28 in 2015, similarly generated strong interest. Collectors covet Masemola’s rabbit sculptures, and an alert white rabbit with yellow ears made in 2009 sold to an online buyer for R 58 625 / $3 207 after a flurry of bids.

“Animal-themed works commanded top prices throughout Sculpted Narratives,” says Wilhelm van Rensburg, Head of Sale for Sculpted Narratives, Strauss & Co. “A diverse collection of Ardmore Ceramic Studio works depicting monkeys, leopards and lions, all owned by the late ambassador Lindiwe Mabuza, generated strong interest. This well-attended auction underscored the upward trajectory of South African ceramics at auction.”

The top-selling Ardmore lot from the Mabuza Collection was Benin Leopard Rider from 2019, which went for R93 800 / $5 132. The highest-earning individual lot in Sculptured Narratives was an Esias Bosch tile depicting purple crested loeries, which sold for R222 775 / $12 188. Following on from Sculpted Narratives, Strauss & Co presented the Pretoria Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art, a spotlight sale exploring the remarkable art history associated with Pretoria. This 82-lot sale fittingly opened with a work by Pierneef, an edition of the artist’s 1920 linocut Wilgerboom in die Winter, which sold well above estimate for R70 350 / $3 849.

“Pierneef has long been a bellwether of the South African auction market, and the Pretoria Sale underlined his enduring appeal to collectors,” says Alastair Meredith, Head of the Art Department, Strauss & Co. “A bold initiative in a new territory for Strauss & Co, we were delighted to sell an undated oil by Pierneef depicting the Pretoria farm Hartbeesfontein for above estimate to a telephone bidder for R2.1 million / $112 638. We also achieved an estimate beating price for Pierneef’s 1955 oil on board Near Golden Gate, which went for R1.3 million / $68 834.”

Bidding for established artists and known works was strong throughout the Pretoria Sale. An untitled 1963 composition by Alexis Preller portraying a musician sold to an online bidder for R1.4 million / $75 092. William Kentridge’s large lithograph Irises, Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, sold for just over R1 million / $56 885. Interest in a rare casting by Frikkie Kruger, one of Anton van Wouw’s students, drew 20 bids before it sold to an online bidder for R140 700 / $7 698. Solid prices were achieved throughout the two spotlight sales. Two examples of Astrid Dahl’s coveted white earthenware vases in Sculpted Narratives went for over R80 000 / $4 300 each. Deborah Bell’s terracotta Crying Pot from 1998 sold for R70 350 / $3 849. Two works made by Rorke’s Drift ceramicists Dinah Molefe and Elizabeth Mbatha sold well above estimate.

The Pretoria Sale saw several works sell for more than their estimates. Erich Mayer’s view of Knysna from 1930 went for R46 900 / $2 566. An untitled abstract from 2014 by Esther Mahlangu sold after 13 bids for R187 600 / $10 264. Zimbabwean painter Raymond Fuyana’s plaintive sunset scene Blue Love sold for R41 038 / $2 245.

www.strauss.co.za

Hylton Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1941-, Cat with blue spots, signed with the artist’s initials and dated 3.12.96 on the underside, glazed and fired ceramic, high: 24cm; wide: 18cm; deep: 11cm
R 20 000 – 30 000 (USD 1 090 – 1 635)
SOLD R 175 875 (USD 9 584)

Nico Masemola SOUTH AFRICAN 1987-2015, White rabbit with yellow ears, signed with the artist’s initials, dated 2009 and inscribed ‘SA’ on the underside hand-painted and glazed ceramic, high: 32cm; wide: 23cm; deep: 12cm
R 12 000 – 15 000 (USD 654 – 818)
SOLD R 58 625 (USD 3 195)

Ardmore Ceramic Studio
SOUTH AFRICAN 20TH/21ST CENTURY Benin Leopard Rider, inscribed ‘made by Teboho, PTD by Wiseman’ and ‘WS 101’, dated Aug 2019 and inscribed ‘a’; inscribed with the title on a label adhered to the inside of the foot. hand-painted and glazed ceramic, high: 47cm excluding, parasol, 59cm including parasol; wide: 47cm; deep 20cm
R 50 000 – 70 000 (USD 2 725 – 3 815)
SOLD R 93 800 (USD 5 112)

Pretoria Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef SOUTH AFRICAN 1886-1957, Plaas Hartbeesfontein, Pretoria, signed, oil on canvas
47 by 63cm excluding frame, 61 by 78,5 by 7,5cm including frame
R 1 200 000 – 1 800 000 (USD 65 390 – 98 085)
SOLD R 2 058 750 (USD 112 185)

William Kentridge SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- Irises, Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, signed and numbered 14/24 in red conté, and embossed with The Artists‘ Press chopmark in the margin lithographs printed on 42 pages scanned from a 1947 Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope log book, mounted on cotton cloth image size: 164 by 152cm, 182 by 170,5 by 8,5cm including frame
R 900 000 – 1 200 000 (USD 49 043 – 65 390)
SOLD R 1 039 725 (USD 56 657)

Alexis Preller SOUTH AFRICAN 1911-1975 Untitled (Musician), signed and dated ’63; inscribed with the artist’s name and ‘untitled’ on a label adhered to the reverse oil on canvas 71,5 by 65cm excluding frame, 101 by 94,5 by 8cm including frame
R 800 000 – 1 200 000 (USD 43 594 – 65 390)
SOLD R 1 372 500 (USD 74 790)

Raymond Fuyana ZIMBABWEAN 1995 – Blue Love signed and dated 21 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 by 48cm excluding frame 39 by 51 by 5cm including frame R 10 000 – 15 000 (USD 545 – 818) SOLD R 41 038 (USD 2 237)

Esther Mahlangu SOUTH AFRICAN 1935- Untitled (2014), signed and dated 2014, acrylic on canvas
80 by 119,5cm excluding frame, 84 by 122,5 by 4,5cm including frame
R 70 000 – 100 000 (USD 3 815 – 5 450)
SOLD R 187 600 (USD 10 223)

Erich Mayer SOUTH AFRICAN 1876-1960, Uit Tuin by Knysna, signed and dated 1930; inscribed with the title on the reverse, watercolour on artist’s board
26,5 by 35,5cm excluding frame, 47,5 by 55,5 by 3cm including frame
R 15 000 – 20 000 (USD 818 – 1 090)
SOLD R 46 900 (USD 2 556)

Astrid Dahl SOUTH AFRICAN 1977-Brugmansia II, 2023, signed, white earthenware, fired, sanded, consolidated and waxed, high: 77cm; wide: 54cm; deep: 54cm
R 70 000 – 90 000 (USD 3 815 – 4 905)
SOLD R 87 938 (USD 4 792)