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Affinités Electives : Alexis Bonew et les Arts du Congo

10 December 2014 | 4:00 PM CET | Paris

SALE TOTAL

6,175,125EUR
Browse Lots
  • 7
    Masque muminia, Lega, République Démocratique du Congo
    Masque muminia
    LOT SOLD.3,569,500EUR
  • 22
    Statue nkonde, Kongo, République Démocratique du Congo
    Statue nkonde
    LOT SOLD.1,553,500EUR
  • 13
    Statue, Songye, République Démocratique du Congo
    Statue
    LOT SOLD.361,500EUR
  • 19
    Mortier à chanvre, Luluwa, République Démocratique du Congo
    Mortier à chanvre
    LOT SOLD.109,500EUR
  • 1
    Figurine en ivoire, Lega, République Démocratique du Congo
    Figurine en ivoire
    LOT SOLD.103,500EUR
Browse Lots
Sale Number: PF1448 Lots : 34

SALE TOTAL

6,175,125EUR DOWNLOAD RESULTS
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Overview

RESULTS

The last sales of 2014 for the African & Oceanic Art department concluded with a result of €12 million, bringing the 2014 total to nearly €26 million at Sotheby's France – a record in this category.

The sale, dedicated to Alexis Bonew’s collection of Congolese art, achieved a great result of €6,175,125. Almost all of the works found a buyer and many exceeded their high estimate. Among the treasures gathered during Alexis Bonew’s lifetime were the Muminia Lega mask, a previously-unseen masterpiece, which garnered the highest bid of this group. Estimated at €200,000-300,000, this mask was highly sought-after with eight bidders driving the final hammer price to €3,569,500, the second highest price in history for an African mask. Additionally, a popular Nkonde statue almost doubled its high estimate selling for €1,553,500. This nail fetish is among the masterpieces of Kongo sculpture.

AUCTION DETAILS

Alexis Bonew discreetly gathered a remarkable ensemble of some forty works from Congo, which Sotheby’s France are privileged to offer for auction on 10 December.

Powered by his insatiable curiosity, Alexis Bonew’s accumulated this collection from the late 1960s until 1980, in parallel with the collection he assembled for Comte de Launoit, for whom he served as an advisor. A dozen years of strategic, persistent pursuit was crowned by the ‘capture’ of the Kongo Nkisi Nkonde figure (Democratic Republic of Congo) from the collection of Antwerp taxidermist Jos Walscharts. This nail fetish, destined to protect its tribe, stands among the masterpieces of Kongo statuary.

The collection also features two other masterworks which have remained hidden in the Alexis Bonew Collection: a striking Songye Nkisi figure collected by Lieutenant Willy-Eugène Claes between 1903-18, and the Surrealistic Luluwa hemp mortar, formerly in the collection of Henri Lavachery. A Lega Muminia mask collected by Colonial Administrator Raymond Hombert in 1927, and acquired from his widow in 1970, is a hitherto unpublished masterpiece which possesses a superb blend of strength and sensitivity.

conditions of sale Saleroom Notice

Contact Information

Marguerite de Sabran
International Advisor
African & Oceanic Art
+33 1 53 05 53 35
margueritedesabran.consultant@sothebys.com
Alexis Maggiar
Senior Director
International Specialist
Head of African and Oceanic Art, Europe
+33 1 53 05 52 67
alexis.maggiar@sothebys.com
Charlotte Lidon
Administrator
African & Oceanic Art
Paris Liaison
African Modern & Contemporary Art
+33 1 53 05 53 39
charlotte.lidon@sothebys.com
   
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