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Strauss & Co’s auction of Decorative Arts and Jewellery includes important Cape silver pieces from the Louis and Mavis Shill Collection

5 Sep 2022

The catalogue for these auctions includes attractive pieces from four single-owner collections. The decorative arts department is especially pleased to be presenting a premier evening session on Monday, 19 September 2022, which will include 13 items from the Louis and Mavis Shill Collection of Cape silver.

Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and in order to accommodate those of our clients who may wish to watch the funeral on Monday 19 September we are rescheduling session 1 and 2 as follows:

Sunday, 18          11.00am:    Wine             

Monday, 19        6.00pm:      Session 3: Cape and Continental Silver, Furniture & Design & Shill Collection              

Tuesday, 20        10.00am:    Session 4: Jewellery

                             2.00pm:      Session 2: Silver, Furniture and Ceramics, including Estate late Groen

                             7.00pm:      Session 5: The Powell Collection

Wednesday, 21   10.00am:    Session 1: Asian Art, Oriental Collector and Estate late Groen

                             3.00pm:      Session 6: Modern and Contemporary Art, Day Sale

7.00pm:      Session 7: Modern and Contemporary Art, Evening Sale

Louis Shill, a pioneering investor and founder of the Sage Fund, was introduced to collecting by his wife, Mavis. Starting in 1970, the Shills began acquiring art, followed in 1973 by the acquisition of their first silver piece, a 19th-century covered sugar bowl by silversmith Carel D. Lotter (estimate R100 000 – 120 000). Equally noteworthy is an 18th-century tessie-on-stand by Daniel H. Schmidt (estimate R150 000 – 200 000) that is referenced in Strauss & Co founding director Stephan Welz’s important book, Cape Silver and Silversmiths (1976).

Session 1 – Asian Art, Oriental Collector and Estate late Groen – which now will take place on Wednesday 21 September at 10am, focuses on Asian ceramics, painting and sculpture. A lot composed of 17 Qing Dynasty giltwood Lohans and a figure of Buddha (estimate R1.2 – 1.6 million) is the undeniable highlight. A South African businessman in the wool trade acquired these sacred figures in Hong Kong during a visit in 1996.

The catalogue for the Asian art session integrates two single-owner collections. The 25 lots from the Property of an Oriental Collector include lovely examples of Qing Dynasty ceramics and a very attractive enamel dish from the 19th-century (estimate R8 000 – 10 000). The 20 lots from the Estate Late Tiemen Groen include six examples of Japanese Imari ware, among them a charger with a flower-filled jardinière as its central motif (estimate R9 000 – 12 000).

The extensive collection of Tiemen Groen – a 1960s Dutch cycling champion who successfully turned his hand to antique dealing before settling in South Africa in 1995 – also features in a mixed afternoon session devoted to silver, furniture and ceramics. Groen’s estate includes seven examples of Delft blue and white faience ware.

Strauss & Co is pleased to present the third instalment of the Property of a Connoisseur. Among the ten pieces are four George III furniture items purchased from Norman Adams, London-based specialists in classic English period furniture. They include a gilded and carved mirror from 1760 (estimate R60 000 – 70 000) and mahogany dressing and writing table from 1775 (estimate R50 000 – 70 000). Other private properties in this session include a pair of finely engraved 18th-century Irish silver candlesticks (estimate R60 000 – 80 000) and a mahogany double ‘Cumberland’ dining table from 1795 (estimate R60 000 – 70 000).

Bidding in the premier evening session on 19 September 2022 will open at 6pm with the presentation of a rare and important Jamaican Colonial casket, circa 1680, attributed to Paul Bennett (estimate R100 000 – 120 000). The session includes a fine assortment of Cape furniture from various owners. There is a numbered Tiffany table lamp dated circa 1910 (estimate R500 000 – 600 000). South African design pieces include an impressive Ceramic Studio blue-glazed vase from 1929 (estimate R20 000 – 30 000) and three lots by Zimbabwean silversmith Patrick Mavros.

The Jewellery session, which takes place on Tuesday 20 September at 10am, features a handsome assortment of pieces by prized makers Piaget and Rolex. There is a Cartier wristwatch with a 48 diamond-set crown and 18ct white gold bracelet (estimate R300 000 – 400 000) that can be worn by both ladies and gentlemen. The final highlight is a platinum ring with claw-set diamond weighing 4.15 carats (estimate R720 000 – 750 000).