Property from the Rodwell House Collection to be included in Strauss & Co’s Auction of Important South African and International Art, Furniture, Decorative Arts and Jewellery, Cape Town 12 October 2015

Last night a chest of drawers sold for close on R2 600 000 at Strauss & Co’s auction in Cape Town drawing gasps from the packed saleroom. This important 18th century chest of drawers, which was formerly part of the collection of Vergelegen, was hotly contested between two international buyers on the telephone.

Important South African and International Art, Furniture, Decorative Arts and Jewellery

Strauss & Co’s summer auction on 9 November at the Wanderers Club will include among its highlights an Italian casting of Anton van Wouw’s famous Dagga Smoker. The sculpture was donated by the artist as a raffle prize to raise funds for the Dutch Relief Fund during World War 2. Tickets cost one shilling (10 cents). At the time the sculpture was valued at 60 pounds. It is expected to fetch in excess of R350 000 on auction this November.

High-quality artworks representing a number of top South African and international artists at their best are among the pieces on auction at Strauss & Co’s Summer auction on 9 November at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg

Caro Wiese is a lover of beautiful things. This understated collector, who recently joined the board of Strauss & Co, the largest fine art auction house in South Africa, talks of her enduring love for art and literature.

A rare bronze sculpture of a miner by Anton van Wouw more than doubled its previous record set in 2013, selling for R4.8 million at Strauss and Co’s summer sale held at The Wanderers in Johannesburg last night. A striking number of the top lots at the auction house’s evening session achieved record prices, including important works by Anton van Wouw, Alexis Preller, Norman Catherine and Cecily Sash.

Important South African and International Art, Drawings, Watercolours, Paintings, Prints and Sculpture

Last month, in a packed lecture held at the offices of fine art auctioneers Strauss & Co, Stephan Welz, the longest practising fine art expert and auctioneer in South Africa, held the room rapt as he concentrated his attention on the phenomenal, and largely unsung, contribution made to local arts and culture by Jewish philanthropists.