Lot 15
  • 15

Paul Joanowits

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • Paul Joanowits
  • Bashi-bazouks before a Gateway
  • signed P. Joanowits lower right
  • oil on panel
  • 46 by 35cm., 18 by 14¾in.

Provenance

MacConnal-Mason Ltd., London
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 2004

Literature

Nikola Kusovac, Dejan Medaković et al., Paja Jovanović, Belgrade, 2009, p. 232, illustrated
Nikola Kusovac, Paja Jovanović, Belgrade,, 2010, p. 125, illustrated
Petar Petrović, Paja Jovanović - sistemski katalog dela [catalogue raisonné], Belgrade, 2012, p. 24, no. 21, catalogued & illustrated

Condition

The panel is flat, even, and ensuring a stable support. Ultra-violet light reveals no visible sign of retouching. This work is in very good condition and ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame with a nameplate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Painted circa 1887-88.

Bashi-bazouks were irregulars in the Ottoman army and hailed from lands across the Ottoman empire, from Egypt to the Balkans. The strain on the Ottoman feudal system caused by the Empire's wide expanse required heavier reliance on irregular soldiers. They were armed and maintained by the government, but did not receive pay and did not wear uniforms or distinctive badges. Because not formally trained, they could not serve in major military operations, but were useful for other tasks such as reconnaissance and outpost duty. The two soldiers, in all their regalia, converse in an Egyptian setting, the gate topped by Mamluk carvings and flanked by East African 'Grandees' chairs', amalgams of Mamluk, Portuguese, and Indian influence. Both men are armed with Ottoman flintlock rifles from Algeria, and the standing guard smokes an Ottoman chibouk pipe with a tophane bowl. On the left, a seventeenth-century Ottoman Tulip-period Tombak ewer rests on the arm of one of the chairs. 

Joanovitch studied at the Vienna Academy under Karl Leopold Müller. His patrons included King Alexander of Serbia. He exhibited in Vienna, Munich, and Berlin, where his meticulously observed Montenegrin and Albanian subjects, particularly of warriors and bashi-bazouks, met with international acclaim, prized by English and American collectors alike.