leonard, issue 4, march 2012

Issue FOuR / MARCH 2012

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ValuatIOn anD ClIent seRVICes

Monique Le Grand Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5620Email [email protected]

John Albrecht, Managing DirectorPhone 0413 819 767Email [email protected]

aRt

Briar Williams, Head of ArtPhone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5608Email [email protected]

JewelleRy

John D’Agata, Head of JewelleryPhone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5605Email [email protected]

DeCORatIVe aRts anD DesIgn

Guy Cairnduff, Head of Classic Furniture, Objects and DesignPhone +61 (0) 3 8825 5611Email [email protected]

COlleCtables

Giles Moon, Head of Collectables and BooksPhone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5635Email [email protected]

bOOks anD ManusCRIpts

Giles Moon, Head of Collectables and BooksPhone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5635Email [email protected]

pRe–OwneD luxuRy

John D’Agata, Head of JewelleryPhone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5605Email [email protected]

natuRal HIstORy

Giles Moon, Head of Collectables and BooksPhone + 61(0) 3 8825 5635Email [email protected]

tHe speCIalIst COlleCtOR

Guy Cairnduff, Head of The Specialist CollectorPhone +61 (0) 3 8825 5611Email [email protected]

tHe weekly auCtIOn

Shawn Mitchell, Head of Weekly AuctionsPhone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5615Email [email protected]

DIgItal MeDIa

Clare Greig, Digital Media Manager Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5613Email [email protected]

Leonard Joel Specialists

LEonARD JoEL

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South Yarra, Victoria 3141

Australia

Tel: +61 (0) 3 9826 4333

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Leonard is published 10 times a year by Leonard Joel. If you have any questions regarding Leonard please contact 03 9826 4333

CoverFine Art AuctionSunday 25 March at 2pm

JOHN GLOVER (1767-1849)Wooded River Landscape with Anglers and Cattle in the Foregroundoil on canvas62 x 74.5cmEstimate $40,000 - 60,000 Also in this auction (Illustrated below)JOHN GLOVER (1767-1849)A Mountainous Wooded Landscape with Cattle by a Lakeoil on canvas62 x 75cmEstimate $35,000 - 45,000

PhotographyRick Merrie

DesignerMaria Rossi

leonardjoel.com.au

FoLLoW US on

BID LIVE AT oUR AUCTIonS on

FInD US on

Facebook.com/Leonardjoel

Twitter.com/LeonardJoel1919

FORewORD

I will bookend this piece with two stories

– one from 1988 at the Malvern Town Hall

Leonard Joel art auction and one from 2012

in a gallery hidden away in a building down

a laneway in Melbourne’s CBD. In 1988 I was

junior store-man (or porter as they say in the

UK) with Leonard Joel but I was fortunate

to have an eye for art and I loved compar-

ing and looking at all the paintings on offer

– some 2000 at any given quarterly Leonard

Joel art sale from this time. I was at the front

of the viewing area where all the more valu-

able and popular paintings were hung when

a well known “new client” arrived who had

developed quite a recent reputation as a “big

buyer” around the traps - this capacity alone

he clearly believed qualified him as an art

critic.

He had the attention of one of our senior staff

and began telling him how much he admired

the quality of a large Ernest Buckmaster

landscape - this mid century traditional land-

scape artist with a tonal twist was very much

in demand at a time when an artist like Jef-

frey Smart was still viewed as “edgy” and

only for the very adventurous. This client

then glanced to the side of the Buckmaster

and spotted a classic William Dobell portrait

and proceeded to tell us how the Buckmaster

was so “beautiful compared to that crappy

Dobell”. Even at 19 I spotted the absurdity

of the statement but couldn’t quite quantify

just how profoundly ignorant the compari-

son was and how much it spoke of prevailing

tastes.

In the late 1980s Victorian furniture, silver-

ware, pretty pre-war period objects and tra-

ditional paintings were still the dominant

currency in Australian collecting circles and

we were very much a microcosm of what

was happening in the UK. The large scale

English output (but maybe not quite mass

production) from say the mid 19th century

to the pre-war period was now in the 1970s

and 1980s feeding an appetite here to fill big

houses with small rooms with lots of things.

The frenzy for brown furniture and sil-

ver decoration remained strong, well, until

things began to change.

Suddenly Victorian dining room suites

weren’t selling like they used to, silverware

that was gifted to children was left in its box

(for good) and reproduction items, both here

and from abroad, were appealing to those

more concerned with “look” than history,

provenance or age. In short, from the 1990s

until the present, the nature of collecting

and acquiring things for the home has been

affected slowly but surely by a profound

change in taste. Now people are creating

bigger living areas and putting less in them,

focusing on aesthetics rather than history

and confidently replacing their parents’

things with a curious 20th century furnish-

ing or a colourful painting from the 1970s or

reinterpreting an inherited object with the

same verve as the individual that was bold

enough to convince Melbourne City Coun-

cil to turn some of their statues upside down

for a period of time. Add to this phenom-

ena the rise in digital commerce, the ability

to acquire from all around the world (quite

literally now from one’s phone) and a new

generation of collectors and you have a truly

open and adventurous collecting sensibility

that has caught many by surprise, including

myself.

Fast forward now to early 2012 and I find

myself walking down a laneway in Mel-

bourne’s CBD, up a flight of stairs and in to

a gallery loft filled with “street art” and late

20th century objects and design. I’m in my

suit, truly marveling at the collection that I

only half understand and thinking back to

those Malvern Town Hall days and wonder-

ing if the model of the auctioneer “suited up”

and handing out traditional glossy catalogues

is also not long for this world. As we dig

deeper in to this collection with the owner,

we learn that this is not just “crazy fun stuff”

but a survey of street art from artists all over

the world and a mini-history of the local

street art movement. After spending an hour

with the collection and discussing just how

this collection could come to auction, I leave

the space and find myself in Melbourne on a

stormy and very wet afternoon and excited

by how far collecting has come and where it

will take the auctioneer in the future.

John ALBREChT, MAnAGInG DIRECToR LEonARD JoEL

THE NEW COLLECTING PARADIGM

1 MARChleonard

COntents

MARCH Contents

CALEnDAR 3

nEWS 4

DECoRATIVE ARTS 6

JEWELLERY PREVIEW 7

WEEKLY 8

nATURAL hISToRY 9

ARTIFACT 10

ART 12

ART PREVIEW 13

JEWELLERY 14

CLASSIC oBJECTS AnD FURnITURE 16

CoLLECTABLES 18

CoLLECTABLES PREVIEW 19

An InTERVIEW 20

ART BUSInESS 21

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With more specialist categories and auctions than any auction house of its kind

in Australia, Leonard is the simplest way to remain abreast of all forthcoming

auctions, important sales results, events and auction news. With expert contribu-

tors from all fields of collecting Leonard will be an indispensable tool for both

the seasoned auction-goer and the new collector alike. Leonard is available

both free at Leonard Joel and online or can be subscribed to for an annual fee

of $44 inc GST (postage & handling). Visit us online at www.leonardjoel.com.au

or for subscription information contact [email protected].

Leonard Joel was delighted to host the joint launch and publication with JBWere

of Jeff Makin’s long awaited publication Critical Moments which brings together

Makin’s art reviews and commentary over the last 40 years. Critical Moments is

available this year in all select arts bookshops.

FRoM SInGLE ITEMS To CoLLECTIonSIf you have a single item or collection you

wish to sell, the Leonard Joel team of spe-

cialists can guide you through the entire val-

uation and auction process. We can provide

you with experts across all collecting fields,

no less than thirteen categories of auction to

select from and the most expansive calendar

of catalogue auctions in Australia. Leon-

ard Joel specialists conduct insurance and

market valuations for the entire spectrum

of clients - private collectors, corporations,

museums, fiduciaries and government enti-

ties are advised by our valuers and special-

ists on a daily basis.

TAILoRED TRUST AnD ESTATE SERVICESLeonard Joel has a long and distinguished

history of assisting both trust companies and

executors with the dispersal of important

collections. We provide fiduciaries (lawyers,

trust officers, accountants and executors)

with a complete suite of services to manage

accurately and successfully the dispersal

of large and small estates. Our services are

specially designed to aid in the appraisal

and dispersal of fine art, antiques, jewel-

lery, objet d’art, collectables, books & manu-

scripts and general household contents.

THINkING Of SELLING?

Our specialists are now sourcing single items and collections for the following categories:

AUSTRALIAn AnD InTERnATIonAL ART

FInE JEWELLERY AnD WRISTWATChES

PRE-oWnED LUxURY

CLASSIC oBJECTS AnD FURnITURE

MoDERn DESIGn

SInGLE oWnER CoLLECTIonS

CoLLECTABLE ToYS AnD SPoRTInG MEMoRABILIA

MILITARIA

BooKS AnD MAnUSCRIPTS

crItIcal MoMents BooK LAUnCh

Left to rightJohn Albrecht, Managing Director of Leonard Joel, Jeff Makin, Author and Artist and Richard Sinclair, Director, JBWere

2 leonardMARCh

FoRtHCoMing AuCtions

The Weekly Auction Every Thursday in 2012 – 10am333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Specialist Print Auction Thursday 1st March 2012 – 11.30am 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Japanese Ethnographic Auction Thursday 1st March 2012 – 10am 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Bernard Smith Estate Art Auction Thursday 8th March 2012 – 11.30am 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Monthly Toy Auction Thursday 15th March 2012 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Graham Geddes Warehouse Auction Sunday 18th March 2012 – 12pm 899 High Street, Armadale, Melbourne, Victoria

Fine Jewellery Auction Sunday 18th March 2012 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Pre-owned Luxury Auction Sunday 18th March 2012 – 3pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Sunday Fine Art Auction Sunday 25th March 2012 – 2pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The India Auction Thursday 29th March 2012 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Collectables, Toys & Sporting Memorabilia Auction Sunday 1st April 2012 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Monthly Toy Auction Thursday 19th April 2012 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Classic Furniture, objects & Design Auction Sunday 3rd June 2012 – 1pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

CalenDaR

Leonard Joel is a proud supporter of Arts Project Australia

Auctions and viewing times are subject to change.

This 19th century wood and gilt harp engraved J.A. Stumpff of London sold for $3,120 (IBP) at The David Bromley Collection, Melbourne auction on 28 November 2011

3 MARChleonard

news

LEONARD JOEL VALUERS NOW fLYING TO SYDNEYBeginning in March 2012, Leonard Joel valuers will be

available in Sydney every month by appointment.

If you have a valuable single item or collection that you are considering

selling please contact Monique Le Grand, Valuation & Client Services on

(03) 8825 5602 or email [email protected]

LOT 52 SOLD 11 DECEMBER 2011 $7,800 IBP

CoLLECTABLES AUCTIon

This most rare London Bus (illustrated) realised a staggering $7800 (IBP) against

a low estimate of $4,000. The bus’ rarity lay in the fact that it was both spe-

cifically produced for the Australian market and in very small numbers.

A strong sale rate and extremely keen bidding for toy vehicles and rare single

items were the themes of the auction.

Entries of single items or entire collections are now being sought for 2012

calendar auctions.

For enquiries please contact [email protected] .

THE CHRISTMAS AUCTION

Just four shopping days before Christmas 2011 on a Tuesday evening Leonard

Joel conducted its first devoted Christmas auction that showcased items from

each of our specialist categories. The core of the offering was a large collection

of vintage Danish furniture that had recently arrived in the country. A depar-

ture from tradition for auction night, the room was left with an extensive dis-

play of Danish couches that formed part of the catalogue and bidders enjoyed

a truly relaxed and innovative setting within which to watch and bid during

the auction. Objects, furniture, items of luxury, jewellery and art all sold on the

night and confirmed the demand for an auction for Christmas shoppers.

THIS RARE RENE LALIQUE ‘POISSONS’ PATTERN GLASS VASE MODEL INTRODUCED 1921 SOLD FOR $5,520 IBP

noW An AnnUAL LEonARD JoEL EVEnT

SoCIABLE LEonARD JoELLeonard JoeL is venturing into the worLd of sociaL Media,

keeping our cLients up to date with aLL our auctions, events,

taLks, viewing dispLays, behind the scenes activity and aMazing

coLLections. pop over and Like us on facebook, foLLow us on

twitter and watch out for our future youtube channeL.

WIn A $500LEonARD JoEL GIFT VoUChER

Visit an Auction at Leonard Joel with a $500 voucher to spend on any of

our Catalogues of Art and Sculpture, Books and Manuscripts, Collectables,

Classic Furniture, Objects and Design, Fine Jewellery, Photography, Pre-

Owned Luxury, Specialist Prints, Toys and Weekly Antiques and Interiors.

hoW To EnTER1. “Like” our Facebook Group - Facebook/Leonardjoel

2. Fill in your details on our website and spread the word about

Leonard Joel Auctions.

There are links to the competition via our homepage.

WAYS To SPREAD ThE WoRD ABoUT LEonARD JoELPosting to your Facebook wall

Tweeting about us

Emailing your friends or work colleagues

Blogging about our Auctions and amazing collection

EnTRIES CLoSE31ST MARCh 2012For enquiries contact Clare Greig on 0400 037 540

or email [email protected]

4 leonardMARCh

news

Leonard Joel is delighted to announce the extension of our specialist expertise

to the rarefied area of minerals, formations, fossils and meteorites. Our first auc-

tion took place on Thursday 8th December 2011 and it is anticipated that we will

conduct several auctions annually. The first auction attracted new collectors and

existing buyers and realized in excess of $10,000 in sales. Highlights included lot

178, a particularly attractive and complete ammonite discovered in Morocco that

realized $1920 (IBP) against an estimate of

$500 - $800. More than 200 lots went under

the hammer and we are now inviting consign-

ments and new collections for our next Natu-

ral History auction in the first half of 2012.

For enquiries contact Giles Moon, Head of

Collectables, Books and Natural

History [email protected]

nATURAL hISToRY

AMMONITE, MoroccoSold $1,920 (IBP)

A nEW CATEGoRY FoR LEonARD JoEL

Photography by Island Continent Studio www.islandcontinent.com.au

CoUnTRY AnD ToWn- ThE DAVID BRoMLEY CoLLECTIon

BOYS IN SAILBOATSold for $48,800 IBP

On a beautiful spring day in Daylesford

Leonard Joel was delighted to offer

over 400 lots from the first part of art-

ist David Bromley’s private collection.

More than 400 buyers turned out to

secure a piece from David’s extraordi-

nary wonderland known as “Shed 24”.

Important bronze sculptures, Danish

furniture, industrial design, works of art

and 20th century objects were eagerly

snapped up by both followers of Da-

vid’s work and new clients from Mel-

bourne and Daylesford. The highlight

of the Daylesford sale was the trans-

action of David Bromley’s important

bronze sculpture, lot 646, Boys in Sail

Boat (illustrated) for $48,800 (IBP). The

sale realised $442,000 against a low

estimate of $323,000 with a sale rate of

95% by lot and 137% by value.

The following evening in Leonard Joel’s

South Yarra rooms a further 250 works

of art, sculpture and interior decora-

tion from David’s Melbourne collection

were offered for auction. Part II was as

diverse and idiosyncratic as Daylesford

but with an emphasis on Australian art

and works executed by Bromley that

resided in his Melbourne home. Works

by Olsen, Blackman, Booth, Mead-

more, Nolan, Arkley and Perceval were

just some of the artists represented

and the standing room only audience

competed fiercely for every lot. One

of the more compelling works in the

collection was Peter Booth’s The En-

trance 1995 that realised $32,400 (IBP)

against estimates of $18,000 - $25,000.

The Melbourne collection realised

$432,340 with a 92% sale rate by lot

and a very pleasing 119% by value.

5 MARChleonard

DeCORatIVe aRts

By anton assaad

PAINTERS AS POTTERSThe tradition of studio pottery in Australia

changed drastically in 1944. “Open Coun-

try”, the Murrumbeena home of Merric and

Doris Boyd, their five children and assorted

artists and friends, had become the teaching

ground for a new generation of ceramicists.

John Perceval, then living with the Boyds,

Arthur Boyd and Peter Herbst, a good friend

and philosophy student at the University of

Melbourne, decided to become partners in

pottery. As Perceval and Boyd needed time to

pursue their painting and Herbst his study, a

three-way partnership in a tradition that two

of them knew a little about, was ideal. Hat-

ton Beck had married Lucy Boyd, Arthur’s

eldest sister, and the two of them had cre-

ated a pottery works out of the dilapidated

butcher’s shop opposite the Murrumbeena

station. With Beck’s knowledge they were

able to make a kiln from the salvaged parts of

Merric’s kiln, which had burnt down. Arthur

Boyd, Perceval and Herbst bought this busi-

ness from the Becks with the hope of produc-

ing utilitarian ware, complying with wartime

decrees, and to experiment with the ceramic

medium.

Their initial “stock on hand” was the pur-

chase from the Becks of a significant quan-

tity of “greenware” (unfired) teapots. The

lids were disposed of whilst the bowls were

refashioned by removing the spouts, and at

times the handles, to become either vases

or two handled sugar bowls. All were deeply

incised and or over painted with free forms

of decoration, more or less resembling native

flora. (Who could have foreseen the humble

beginnings or this as the birth place of two of

Australia’s iconic artists).

Earthenware glazes offered a bright, trans-

parent, vibrant and solid colour that allowed

the lyrical and whimsical narrative of the

“Arthur Merric Boyd” (AMB) studio pot-

ters to come through. As Boyd, Perceval and

Herbst continued to use the studio as a place

to create and not just manufacture, other art-

ists began working there on a casual basis.

Friends, neighbours and fellow artists such

as Dorothy Meyer, Carl Cooper, Neil Douglas,

Charles Blackman, Albert Tucker, David and

Hermia Boyd, Tom Sanders, Margot Knox,

Ethel Whiteside (nee Coutts) and John

(Richard) Howley.

When Peter Herbst left for Oxford in 1950,

his share in the works was taken over by Neil

Douglas whose depictions of native flora and

fauna were to heavily influence the other art-

ists in the studio. Douglas’ lyrical works of

forests, ferny groves, lyrebirds and kangaroos

contrasted heavily against the Brueghelesque

work done by Boyd and Perceval at the time.

This new influence flowed through into the

works of all at the studio, presenting a more

Australian theme. The combination of a clear,

bold palette in a medium that was still to be

fully explored meant that the AMB Studio

was not only at the vanguard then, but is as

fresh and as vibrant today.

The Arthur Merric Boyd Studio, and particu-

larly the painted and ceramic works of Neil

Douglas, have gone largely unrecognised

for their great artistic merit, which has left

a large hole in the understanding of Austral-

ian artistic and cultural heritage. This dearth

in our knowledge was initially recognised by

the National Gallery of Victoria. The Gallery

exhibited The Painter as Potter, Decorated

ceramics of the Murrumbeena circle in 1982-

3, an exhibition of the Arthur Merric Boyd

Studio focussing on the ceramic works of the

now famous Arthur Boyd, John Perceval, and

lesser known Neil Douglas, amongst others –

curated by Geoffrey Edwards now Director

of the Geelong Art Gallery.

Since 1983, little has been displayed of the

studio’s work. Horsham Regional Art Gal-

lery in August 1997 held an important ret-

rospective of Neil Douglas’ works and selec-

tions of this were later shown at Hamilton

and Sale. Hurnall’s in June 1998 held a sale

which included the ceramic works of many

of the AMB potters. An exhibition of selected

pottery items and paintings was also held

at Heide Museum of Modern Art from July

to October 2003. Hurnall’s Decorative Arts

in November 2011 held a special Sale and

Exhibition further highlighting the ceramic

works by Murrumbeena Potters and Merric

Boyd, amongst many others.

Furthermore, a major contributor to Austral-

ian studio ceramics, Merric Boyd left a crea-

tive legacy that is unavoidable in the study of

our art and craft movement. Merric’s knotted

gumtrees, gnarled branches, kookaburras,

koalas, homesteads and landscapes redefined

the Australian environments impact on its

peoples. His ceramic work, with its highly

sculptural qualities, still offers a new and

definitive way of seeing. As quoted by Arthur

to Victoria Hammond at Bundanon, Febru-

ary 1989. “My father, Merric Boyd, had an

extremely unusual, passionate, creative spirit

and this energy, rhythm and life flow through

his pottery and drawings”.

Merric Boyd’s creative needs were such that

even after he was no longer able to pot, his

great artistic passion, he continued to draw

fervently. His body of work is overwhelming

with so many incredible, sculptural ceramic

pieces and light, free drawings. The 1930s

and 1950s in Melbourne were definitive dec-

ades in which Australian artists were trying

desperately to reappropriate their country,

identity, nationalism and arts in line with

their newly aware and self conscious selves.

Merric Boyd’s contribution to these windows

of exploration was his strength of belief in his

own way of seeing. Playing an active role in

the lives of these artists seeking to redefine in

the 1930s and 50s, he exposed them to a new

landscape. It was this very way of seeing the

environment in light of the new art nouveau

movement, a new nationalism and imminent

world wars that set Merric Boyd apart – he

was founding a stylistic coup within the utili-

tarian realm of ceramics.

Merric’s influence (working 1912-1959) is

one not only exercised on later generations,

such as Arthur Boyd and John Perceval, but

also his contemporaries and students who

adopted his style and way of manipulating

and sculpting the clay.

Finally, it would be remiss not to mention the

current touring exhibition “White gums and

ramoxes” throughout the eastern states of

Australia, including Tasmania. This impor-

tant show features the ceramics and draw-

ings by Merric and Arthur Boyd from the

Bundanon Trust Collection, initiated and

developed by the staff under the guest cura-

torial eye of Grace Cochrane. This touring

exhibition continues until September 2012.

All related enquiries to the Bundanon Trust

on (02) 4422 2100 or bundanon.com.au.

BOYD, DOUGLAS, PERCEVAL AND fRIENDS

ThE MURRUMBEEnA SToRY AnD BEYonD ConTInUES

By MarvIn Hurnall

CHARGER, decorated by Neil Douglas, thrown by Aurthur Boyd, dated 1950

CHARGER, wildly decorated with Ringtail possums. Thrown and decorated by Aurthur Boyd, dated 1948

6 leonardMARCh

JewelleRy pReVIew

AN EDWARDIAN DIAMOND LINE BRACELET Estimate $20,000 - $25,000

AN IMPRESSIVE 3.74ct THREE STONE DIAMOND RING Estimate $35,000 - $40,000

A 13.41ct WHITE & COGNAC DIAMOND NECKLACE Estimate $14,000 - $16,000

fINE JEWELLERY

PREviEW

The Fine Jewellery AuctionSunday 18 March 2012, 12pm

PreviewWednesday 14 March 2012 9am – 8pmThursday 15 March 2012 10am – 4pm

Friday 16 March 2012 10am – 4pmSaturday 17 March 2012 10am – 5pm

7 MARChleonard

weekly

The Weekly Auction

Viewing Wednesdays 9am to 8pm

Auction Thurdays 10am

View online at leonardjoel.com.au

In any given month Leonard Joel are conducting interesting thematic

weekly auctions, from rare toy collections to objects and antiques

sourced from unusual corners of the globe. Keep an eye on our

website and for emails that will alert you to these very interesting

mini-auctions. And if you have an interesting small collection that

you are considering selling contact Shawn Mitchell - Head of Weekly

Auctions (03) 8825 5615 or email [email protected]

THEMATICWEEkLY AUCTIONS

A COLLECTION OF OBJECTS & EPHEMERA FROM A MELBOURNE COLLECTOR

SOLD AT LEONARD JOEL IN 2011

8 leonardMARCh

natuRal HIstORy

Beginning in antiquity, with names such as

Aristotle and Pliny, continuing apace from

the Renaissance to the Age of Enlightenment,

and down to the present day, human beings

have always possessed a profound desire to

understand, catalogue and collect specimens

from the natural world around them.

From the sixteenth century onwards, (ever-

growing in popularity), this passion became

one of the principal pursuits of leisured soci-

ety, enthralling an enormous number of the

aristocratic and noble houses of Europe.

Maintained within such houses were ‘wun-

derkammer’, or ‘cabinets of curiosities’. (In

this sense the word ‘cabinet’ refers to the area

within which such collections were housed,

and thus may refer to an entire series of

rooms.) Although such ‘cabinets’ were con-

stituted of all manner of ‘curiosities’, (antiq-

uities, weapons, native artefacts, scientific

instruments), it was the specimens of natu-

ral history which were most numerous and

which occupied pride of place. Fossils, min-

erals, precious gems, amber, seashells, corals,

skulls and skeletons, sat happily alongside

ancient Greek vases and fragments of marble

sculptures.

It was these ‘cabinets of curiosities’ which

became the basis for the modern museum in

all its varieties, the most famous early exam-

ple being that of the Tradescant family in

London.

More than at any previous time it was during

the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, via

the great voyages of discovery in the Pacific,

that innumerable specimens from strange

new worlds began to flood into Europe,

especially England. Fabulous collections of

equally fabulous specimens were amassed by

such notable British collectors as the Duch-

ess of Portland and Sir Hans Sloane, (the col-

lection of the latter ultimately forming the

foundation of the British Museum).

A veritable cornucopia of exotic plants,

seeds, flowers, seashells, corals, birds, fish,

reptiles and insects found its way, not only

into museums, but into the auction houses

of Europe. Amongst the many natural history

items offered for sale at this time, a particular

penchant existed for seashells, whose dura-

bility, in conjunction with their magnificent

colours and patterns, rendered them the

eternal favourite area of natural history col-

lecting. Indeed, it is an oft-told true story

that, at various times in the past, certain sea-

shells have sold at auction for higher prices

than a painting by Vermeer.

In the late nineteenth and early twenti-

eth centuries, the tradition of natural his-

tory collecting was taken to its zenith when

Baron Walter Rothschild amassed the largest

private collection of natural history speci-

mens yet formed, (considerably decreasing

the family fortune in the process), contain-

ing, amongst innumerable other specimens,

300,000 birds, 30,000 beetles, 200,000 eggs,

and an astonishing 2.25 million butterflies!

After the protracted period of relative inac-

tivity caused by the two World Wars, natu-

ral history auctions enjoyed ever-increasing

international popularity throughout the sec-

ond half of the twentieth century. Now, at

the beginning of the twenty-first, this area

of collecting continues to grow in interest

throughout the world. The many fascinating

and beautiful natural history specimens sold

through major auction houses during recent

years range from small mineral specimens,

selling for a few hundred dollars each, to a

virtually complete Tyrannosaurus rex skel-

eton, which sold internationally in 1997 for

$8.36 million.

In 2012 Leonard Joel will be inaugurating

the new sale category of ‘Natural History’.

Initially consisting of one major annual sale

and several smaller featured sections within

monthly auctions, Leonard Joel hopes to

introduce this fascinating, eclectic and

highly rewarding area of collecting to the

wider auction-going public.

Whether inspired by an appreciation of aes-

thetics, scientific interest, or high curiosity,

one of the best and most satisfying ways to

become better informed about the world we

inhabit is through the collection and study of

natural history.

NATURAL HISTORY - A WONDERfUL OBSESSiONBy Jason sPraGue

ABOUT JASON SPRAGUE

Outside of his work as an entrepre-

neur in the arts industry and as a

composer, Jason Sprague has been a

collector of natural history for more

than three decades. In conjunction

with his more recent collecting in the

areas of antiquities, Asian art, tribal

art and antiquarian books, Jason has

maintained his consuming passion

for natural history, especially in the

area of fine and rare seashells. Every

year he travels to Paris for the most

prestigious exposition of rare sea-

shells in the world; makes available

specimens and knowledge to many of

the world’s leading institutions and

museums; and acts as dealer, agent

and consultant for many of the fin-

est rare seashell collections in Aus-

tralia and abroad. Articles concern-

ing Jason and his collecting activities

have featured in numerous maga-

zines and newspapers, including The

Age and The Sydney Morning Her-

ald, and upon the internet. Jason will

be assisting Leonard Joel with sales

of natural history in 2012.

A COLLECTION OF OBJECTS & EPHEMERA FROM A MELBOURNE COLLECTOR

SOLD AT LEONARD JOEL IN 2011

9 MARChleonard

aRtIFaCt

Over the last few decades a rare group of indig-

enous cross-cultural objects have sporadically

come to light and each time they raise more

questions than are answered. A scarcity of

information surrounds them and the fact that

most artists are seldom identifiable lends the

objects an intrigue, and on both a scholarly and

collector level, a last frontier quality. It’s only in

recent times that academics and the dedicated

few have begun to map this fairly uncharted,

but important cultural territory. Hence, the

re-emergence of this group of repatriated

Queensland artifacts offer valuable and curious

insights into a little known chapter of Austral-

ian history and are sure to contribute to the

growing body of cross-cultural knowledge, as

well as presenting an uncommon opportunity

for collectors.

Described in various quarters as contact or

transitional art, decorated artifacts emerged

towards the end of the 19th century and by

mid century had shifted from carved surfaces

to pokerwork and paint. In essence, contact

art bears witness to Aborigines’ experience of

change, of dislocation from traditional lands,

and also their interest and willingness to adapt

to facets of European life.

The early contact artifacts (pre 1920) rang-

ing from woomeras, coolamons, clubs to boo-

merangs, incised with stone scrapers and later

metal tools, display a combination of both

figurative and geometric elements (the latter

carried encoded knowledge but were inserted

discretely to the object’s borders and tips). In

subsequent periods the geometric designs

began to dissipate and native animal imagery

dominated. In contrast, early contact figura-

tive imagery frequently depicted new found

features of European life including mission-

aries, police, stockmen, often in combination

with native animals or scenes from traditional

indigenous life.

Contact art has been traced to settlements and

missions as far afield as La Perouse, NSW, Flin-

ders Ranges, S.A. and Barambah, now called

Cherbourg, in SE Queensland. The Barambah

artifacts are some of the earliest found and

may have begun as personal recordings for an

individual or their community, however by 1911

they were consciously created for an external

market:

“Barambah inmates were involved in exhibi-

tions and performances that were specifically

designed to promote the settlement. In 1911,

the Chief Protectors’ Department organised a

display of the various facets of its work. Each

settlement and mission, including Barambah,

was asked to contribute items of work by its

inmates. Items displayed ranged from samples

of schoolwork to traditionally made imple-

ments and weapons.”

The group of early 20th century Queensland

artifacts comprised of two decorated boomer-

angs and a club, have emerged from a private

collector in the United Kingdom, however

their provenance while long held is, unsurpris-

ingly, unknown. Nonetheless, the reclaimed

nature of the trio is certain, evident from the

natural ridges found on one boomerang, to

the scratched grip markings on the club, rein-

forcing their dating to an early period when

decoration was applied to pre-existing objects,

rather than later times when boomerangs were

carved from scratch and decorated for a ready

commercial market.

Similarly, the artifact group all bear decorative

attributes displayed in Barambah carvings, but

after research, one of the boomerangs, while

retaining some shared characteristics, over-

whelmingly and tantalisingly proffers a differ-

ent point of origin.

Emblazoned with the word ‘Galbraith’ on its

left half side, a flower near the centre and a

charming multi carriage train on its right, the

highly detailed and finely executed boomerang

is rich with clues to its lineage. The prominence

bestowed upon ‘Galbraith’ does not belong to

a town or cattle station, but in all likelihood

to Percy Dumas Fead Galbraith. Born in 1854

in County Cork, Ireland he served in the New

Zealand Police Force and by 1884 he was a sub-

inspector in the Queensland Police. He rose

through the ranks to Inspector (2nd Class) sta-

tus and by 1901 Percy Galbraith was appointed

Aboriginal Protector of Normanton in Gulf

country, a remote port and cattle hub in north-

west Queensland and he remained there until

1904. In gleaning the annual Chief Aboriginal

Protector reports , Galbraith comes across as a

humane individual who was committed to his

role of protecting and upholding the rights of

the Aboriginal people at a time when tensions

were rife between the Europeans, particularly

station owners and the indigenous population.

ARTIfACT

10 leonardMARCh

aRtIFaCt

He advocated Aborigines’ unhindered access to

traditional water holes, declaring “to deprive

them of this right simply means wiping them

out or driving them in to the smaller townships

where women must prostitute themselves in

order to enable the men and children to live.

Those that are myalls [nomadic aborigines] will

naturally kill the cattle, or even commit murder,

if driven away from their hunting grounds.”

Given Protector Galbraith’s role within the

community, it is feasible that he was either

gifted the boomerang by an indigenous person

(maybe a stockman or a tracker) or instead,

Galbraith may himself have commissioned the

decorated boomerang as a memento. It could

be speculated that he was influenced by the

avid interest in indigenous material culture

held by his superior, Chief Aboriginal Protec-

tor Walter E. Roth. Known for his care and

respect of the Aboriginal people, Roth was also

an anthropologist and ethnographer whose

2000 strong artifact collection and documenta-

tion was acquired by the Australian Museum,

Sydney in 1905.

Returning to the boomerang surface, the carved

train filled with passengers, cattle, horses and

cargo provides more evidence grounding it

in the early 20th century and the Normanton

region. In 1891 the Normanton-Croydon train

line was built to service the export of gold dis-

covered in Croydon six years earlier. The boom

was short-lived and by 1907 the mines and

towns were in decline. Until 1906 an A10 Loco-

motive ran on the line and photographs of this

particular steam engine reveal that its features

are exactly replicated in the carving down to its

four coupled wheels with their distinctive 5 –

spoke star shape.

The flower decorating the Galbraith boomer-

ang provides an intriguing link to Barambah

with a club from the SE Qld settlement boast-

ing an identical motif. Barambah was settled

over the same period as Galbraith’s Normanton

tenure, so the existence of the same floral carv-

ing suggest that either two artists belonging to

the same tribe were active in separate locations,

or contentiously, that the Galbraith boomerang

predates many of the Barambah artifacts,

Other Barambah stylistic attributes, primarily

traditional markings including cross-hatching,

as well as crescent shapes, arrows and bead-

ing used as decorative and framing devices are

carved into the Galbraith boomerang’s design.

The club is purely embellished with geometric

designs including the same arrows and circle

designs found in Barambah art.

Scott Rainbow, author of A study of the transi-

tional art of Barambah/ Cherbourg Settlement

in QLD (2009) and major collector of the art,

has identified seven common recurring Baram-

bah motifs and characteristics, two of which

are featured in the ‘Q G’ boomerang. Flank-

ing the central panel are an incised image of a

horse head and that of a saddle which Rainbow

relates to Aboriginal stockmen, although, in

this case they could equally and most probably

symbolise the police upon decoding the letter

and symbol stamp.

The recreational activities of the Aboriginal

stockmen, namely card playing found their

way into the pictorial language of contact art

and constitutes the second example of com-

mon motifs. Sitting at the boomerang’s apex

is a clear rendition of a spade. Carved inside it

are the letters “Q “and “G” along with the broad

arrow symbol. This symbol is a military ord-

nance mark which denoted government issued

equipment assigned to the Queensland police

as well as Aboriginal trackers. The stamp was

operational in Queensland between 1890-1910,

however it began to be phased out from 1901

once Federation occurred.

Whether this boomerang belongs to Barambah

is not certain, however the rustic style of the

letter G, the compositional structure and spare

design differentiates it from the Galbraith arti-

fact which exhibits greater embellishment and

intricate detail indicating that it is by another

artistic hand.

Recognition for contact artifacts has long been

overdue, but with an increasing number of

studies by Paul Tacon et al and the Scott Rain-

bow collection, these special objects have been

recast from ignorantly being best considered as

curiosities and at worst early tourist ware into

significant social, historical and cultural docu-

ments for indigenous and non-indigenous Aus-

tralians alike.

BY SoPhIE ULLInABoRIGInAL ART SPECIALIST

The Sunday Fine Art Auction 25 March 2012

THE GALBRAITH BOOMERANGEARLY TRANSITIONAL QUEENSLAND BOOMERANGcirca 1901-1904, Normanton regioncarved hardwood incised on the front surface with figurative images including a train and floral motif, lettering and traditional designs, shiny patina overalllength: 63cmEstimate $2,000 - 3,000

<

11 MARChleonard

aRt

anne Hall (bORn 1945), Boy with a Frog in His Pocket, Sold $20,400 IBP

ConnoISSEURS oUT FoR SPECIALIST PRInT AUCTIon

FRED WILLIAMS (1927-1982), Landscape etching, aquatint and drypoint 12/20, Sold $5,280 IBP

For centuries, limited edition engrav-

ings, woodblocks and lithographs have

continued to provide artist and collector

alike a distinct and interesting alternative

medium for the expression of imagery and

style. Leonard Joel is now providing col-

lectors carefully curated graphics auctions

that offer the most significant survey of the

medium for Australian artists in the coun-

try. On Thursday 8th December 2011 our

fourth auction in this field offered more

than 200 works by Australian and inter-

national artists. This rounded off a very

successful year for the specialist print auc-

tions, achieving 80% by volume and 100%

by value. Lot 3044, Landscape by Fred Wil-

liams (illustrated) realised the highest price

at $5,280 (IBP). Of the international works

on offer, lot 3066, an interesting work by

the 20th century Austrian Norbertine von

Bresslern Roth titled Ibises, realised $1,200

(IBP). We are currently consigning fine

graphics for our first print auction of 2012.

For enquiries please contact nicole.salvo@

leonardjoel.com.au.

On Sunday afternoon December 4th 2011

just over 250 lots of Australian and Inter-

national art went under the hammer. The

auction began promisingly with the sale of

lot 2 an early work by Ludmilla Meilerts

titled Yarra Boats 1954. The work realised

$6,000(IBP), quadrupling its presale esti-

mate. Rare artists and imagery seemed to be

the focus of buyer attention on Sunday with

the sale of lot 9, a late 19th century work of

Sydney Harbour by the Australian artist

Sophie Steffanoni, for $5040(IBP) which

was more than six times the presale esti-

mate. Steffanoni died young and produced

few works, which no doubt added to the

interest in this work. One of the highlights

of the auction was the most unusual work

by Anne Hall of Phillip Mora as a young

boy. The work, lot 26, was dated 1967 and

realised a staggering $20400(IBP) which

was ten times the presale estimate and a

new record price for the artist. The Mora

theme was continued with lot 147, a small

work by Mirka Mora in painted fabric titled

Girl Riding Bird which realised $8040(IBP)

quadrupling its presale estimate. Again, the

auction confirmed strong demand for unu-

sual but compelling subject matter by rare

artists. We are now inviting entries for our

2012 auctions. For enquiries contact briar.

[email protected] .

now consIGnInG for tHe June sunday fIne art auctIon

NEW AUCTiON RECORD

12 leonardMARCh

aRt – pReVIew

Special Thursday AuctionThursday 8 March 2012, 11.30am

PreviewWednesday 7 March 2012 9am – 8pm

EnquiriesNicole Salvo, Art Specialist(03) 8825 5624 / [email protected]

ThE ESTATE oF BERnARD SMIThBernard Smith, art critic and academic, was one of the founders of the discipline of art history in this country and among its most distinguished practitioners.While Smith began his creative life as a painter, it wasn’t long before the study of history and ideas took over his life and he turned his attention to writing about art and teaching. In 1945 he established his name with the publication of Place, Taste and Tradition, one of the first publications to examine the history and evolution of Australian art and he continued to write throughout his life, releasing The Formalesque at the age of 91.Leonard Joel is honoured to present works from the Estate of Bernard Smith, which includes a rare insight into his own artistic productivity with early sketches from the 1930s and oils from the 1980s. The stand-out work from this collection is a 1949 portrait of Bernard Smith by friend and fellow socialist Sali Herman (illustrated). This portrait was painted while they were neighbours in Potts Point and marks the beginning of their respective careers as Art Historian and Artist. The collection also includes works by renowned Australian artists Martin Sharp, John Howley, Hal Missington and Mark Howson as well as studio ceramics and small sculptures.This auction presents an outstanding opportunity to share in the history of one of Australia’s most highly regarded art historians.

SALI hERMAn (1898-1993)Portrait of Bernard Smith 1949 oil on canvas, 50 x 40.5cm$8,000 - 12,000

The Sunday Fine Art AuctionSunday 25 March 2012, 2pm



ART PREVIEW

RoBERT DICKERSon (BoRn 1924)Figure by the Pierpastel, 28.5 x 38.5cm$3,500 - 4,500

MARGARET oLLEY (1923 - 2011)Still Life with Cherries and Blue Jug oil on board, 45.5 x 53cm$12,000 - 18,000

RAY CRooKE (BoRn 1922)Islandersoil on canvas, 39. 5 x 49.5cm$8,000 -12,000

13 MARChleonard

JewelleRy

now consIGnInG Jewellery, watcHes and Pre owned luxury for June 2012

A BLUE JEAN BIRKIN HANDBAG BY HERMES, SOLD $7,200 IBP

95% SALE RATE FoR CoLLECTABLE WRIST AnD PoCKET WATChES

At the final pre-owned luxury auc-

tion for 2011 high quality leather

wear from the world’s great fashion

houses attracted the strongest bidding.

Almost “as new” handbags from Prada,

Balenciaga, Rykiel, Gucci and Louis

Vuitton were keenly sought but the

preeminent brand Hermes continued

its track record of realizing the highest

prices at auction. Lot 350, a Blue Jean

Birkin Handbag by Hermes (illus-

trated) realised $7,200 (IBP), almost

doubling its low estimate. Another

interesting item was lot 380, the large

pleated steam bag by Louis Vuitton and

designed by Marc Jacobs that realised

$4,680. Consignments of high quality

leather ware for 2012 auctions are now

being invited. For enquiries contact

[email protected] .

On December 4th 2011 almost 400 lots

of precious stone jewellery, designer

pieces and wristwatches were offered

at the last major jewellery auction for

the year. Period and old cut diamond

jewellery continued to enjoy strong

interest from buyers seeking original

designs. A fine selection of South Sea

pearl and coral jewellery was also well

received by buyers taken by the strong

colours and quality of these pieces. Of

particular note was lot 48 (illustrated),

an impressive Art Deco coral and

diamond plaque brooch set in platinum

which realised $6,600(IBP). But the

strength of interest was most notable

with the offering of watches and of the

twenty on offer only one did not find

a buyer. Watches by Rolex, Cartier,

IWC, Patek Philippe and Vacheron

Constantin were sold to collectors

and investors seeking safe havens in

these cautious times. The nineteen

watches achieved a combined total of

$69,780(IBP) with the highest price

realised from lot 176, a Cartier Panthere

wristwatch in 18ct yellow gold selling

for $13,200(IBP). Entries are now

being sought for our 2012 calendar

of fine jewellery and wristwatch

auctions. For enquiries contact john.

[email protected] .

APPETITE fOR PRE-OWNED LUxURY LEATHER INSATIABLE

A CARTIER PANTHERE DIAMOND WRISTWATCHSOLD $13,200 IBP

14 leonardMARCh

JewelleRy

LUxURY PiECES AT AUCTI N

The Fine Jewellery AuctionSunday 18 March 2012, 12pm



An ALZER 60 SUITCASE In BLACK EPI BY LoUIS VUITTon Estimate $5,000 - $8,000

An IMPRESSIVE 3.80CT DIAMonD RInGEstimate $20,000 - $25,000

15 MARChleonard

ClassIC FuRnItuRe, ObJeCts & DesIgn

The economic boom currently experienced in

China is no secret, but how has this affected

Australian auction rooms and the way we do

business? When thinking about the context of

this article I decided to mooch about the inter-

net of course, to see what more experienced

industry specialists were saying about this

phenomenon.

I came across a page in ARTINFO, an online

website dedicated to international art and cul-

ture, entitled “Speak Chinese? Need a job? ”...,

it went on to discuss how international auc-

tion houses are currently scouting for fluent

Mandarin speakers with a Ph.D. in Chinese art.

It makes a lot of sense and I for one seriously

wish I had a better understanding of the Chi-

nese language, both written and spoken.

The well advertised record prices achieved

for Chinese porcelain around the world has

shined a beacon on the local auction room and

delivered a fresh take on an industry that may

have been in danger of becoming irrelevant. As

good Chinese porcelain and carved jade pieces

attract the astute and cashed up collector, this

in turn has had a broad impact on the auction

industry as a whole.

Most importantly it has allowed a new client

to be introduced to the auction culture, a feat

so desirable it’s as good as money in the bank.

This has therefore boosted prices realised and

in turn the profile of our auction house and our

competitors in a world where the likes of sites

such as Ebay are capturing a whole generation

either unaware or disinterested in what an auc-

tion house can offer them in terms of selling

and buying.

Buoying the spirits of both staff and clients, the

confidence of these new Chinese buyers in our

auction rooms now see them expanding their

existing antique appetite beyond their Asian

borders and outbidding the seasoned auction

goer, confidently paying top prices in the tradi-

tional collecting areas of fine English silver and

French clocks.

Clients new and old to the auction rooms who

are keen to collect Chinese antiques may well

be interested in seeking out alternative areas

such as cloisonné, carved ivory and my per-

sonal favourite export silver. Keep an eye out

for hallmarked pieces from makers such as

Wang Hing & Co of Hong Kong in tea services,

vases and flatware.

Overall, what has been experienced in auction

rooms is really a snapshot of a world trend that

is sure to influence our global culture indel-

ibly for the future. Might I suggest introducing

Mandarin into the Australian primary school

room curriculum, now that sounds like a smart

move to me. A certain former Prime Minister

would be the perfect figure head for such a bold

move and I say that with no personal political

interests intended!

A CHINESE EXPORT SILVER TEA SETMAKER’S MARK WANG HING & CO, HONG KONG, CIRCA 1910Sold June 2011 for $ 5,760 IBP

A CHINESE EXPORT STERLING SILVER TANKARDMAKER’S MARK SUNSHING, CANTON, CIRCA 1830Sold November 2011 for $1,800 IBP

THE RISE AND RISE Of ChiNESE ANTIqUESBy lIZa HallaM

16 leonardMARCh

ClassIC FuRnItuRe, ObJeCts & DesIgn

ThE GRAhAM GEDDES WAREhoUSE AUCTIonFor all enquiries contact Guy CairnduffHead of The Specialist Collector(03) 8825 5611 / 0407 828 [email protected]

ClASSiC fURNITURE, OBJECTS AND DESIGN

now consIGnInG classIc furnIture, oBJects & desIGn for 3 June 2012EnTriES CloSE 13 April

auctIon sunday 18 MarcH 2012To BE viEwEd And Sold on SiTE AT899 High Street, Armadale, Melbourne

A BOXED SET OF PLASTER RELIEF PLAQUES AFTER THE ELGIN MARBLES19TH CENTURY, JOHN HENNING (1717-1851)Estimate $2,500-$3,500

MARGUERITE MAHOOD (1901-1989)A RARE EARTHENWARE FIGURE OF A FEMALE NUDEInscribed signature and model number C627Estimate $12,000-$15,000

(Part lot)A PAIR OF COMPOSITE STONE FIGURES OF HOUNDSImpressed foundry mark and initialled AJ to base, each figure 80cm high, each plinth 75cm high. Estimate $5,500-6,500

17 MARChleonard

COlleCtables

1. What exactly comes within the “col-

lectables” category or better still, what

does not constitute a collectable? A col-

lectable, by definition, is something that is

deemed to be worth collecting, or of interest

to a collector. Unsurprisingly, therefore, it is

the most diverse selling category within the

auction industry! There are numerous col-

lecting areas attracting global interest. These

include vintage toys, sporting memorabilia,

rock n’ roll and entertainment memorabilia,

animation art, classic radios, cameras, movie

posters, advertising posters, militaria, railway

memorabilia and scientific instruments.

2. When did collectables as a category

emerge at auction houses? Collectables had

been sold at auction for many years, but the

area really developed in the early 1980s when

major auction houses identified that there was

a great demand for specialised sales of collect-

ables. This led to auctions in one particular

collecting field. For instance, a London auc-

tion house held the first sale of Rock n’ Roll

Memorabilia in 1981.

3. Could any region, culture or country

lay claim to its creation?

No one country can claim to be the creator but

The UK and USA have traditionally been at

the heart of the market.

4. The most exciting collectable you have

ever sold?Undoubtedly, the most exciting

would be the Gallipoli Victoria Cross awarded

to Captain Alfred Shout that sold in 2006. The

medal was particularly important as it was the

last remaining Gallipoli Victoria Cross in pri-

vate hands; the other 8 reside at the Austral-

ian War Memorial. There was a huge amount

of interest in the sale, with a packed saleroom

and numerous TV crews present. At the time,

the highest price paid for a Victoria Cross was

$575,000. I had expected the Shout VC to

break the record but was absolutely stunned

when it hammered $1,000,000. It was a fan-

tastic outcome, particularly as the medal was

bought by Kerry Stokes and put on display in

the Australian War Memorial.

5. Have you ever declined to sell some-

thing considered collectable and if so what

was it?

In 2000 I was approached by a client in New

York who wanted to sell an LP signed by John

Lennon. The provenance was impeccable: it

had been signed outside John Lennon’s apart-

ment in the Dakota building in New York in

1980. it was owned by Mark Chapman, who

shot Lennon the same day as he returned

home. The album was found at the scene of

the shooting and used as evidence during

Chapman’s murder trial. Although its notori-

ety made it highly collectable I declined to sell

the item on grounds of taste.

6. The most exciting collector your ever

met?

I have met a few celebrity clients in the past but

the most exciting was someone that I nearly

met. I was conducting a valuation of Johnny

Cash’s memorabilia collection in Nashville,

Tennessee. This included a visit to his house

in Hendersonville. I could hear his unmistake-

able voice from the next room but didn’t have

the opportunity to meet him in person.

7. If there was one collection you would

have liked to have been a part of but wasn’t

what would that be?

I am a big 007 fan so would have loved to have

been involved in the sale of James Bond mem-

orabilia that was held in 1998. The auction

included an amazing one-owner collection

of original props used in many Bond movies.

Highlights included Oddjob’s steel-rimmed

bowler hat from Goldfinger and a knuckle

duster from With Russia From Love.

8. What do you think shouldn’t be col-

lected, that is?

Although collected in certain circles I do not

accept Nazi memorabilia consignments for

auction.

9. What do you collect?

I have a small collection of advertising and

movie/rock n’ roll posters.

10. What to you are the emerging areas

that may “become” collectable?

I have noticed that vintage hi-fi equipment is

attracting quite a following. Good 1950s/1960s

pieces are collectable both as examples of

modern design and for their musical capabili-

ties I think this has been fuelled by a renewed

interest in collecting vinyl records.

10 QUESTIonS WITh A SPECIALIST

useful record of Australian and regional art

auction records. These are two amongst a

plethora of online data resources and armed

with these the collector has, for a modest

annual fee, powerful information to source

the history and sale performance of both art-

ists and particular works of art.

THE FUTURE – NOW!

Recently before an auction one of my special-

ists remarked that “we have more registered

telephone bidders than registered room

bidders” – put simply, more people bidding

away from us than with us! The “remote col-

lector” is a feature of a world that is becom-

ing less physical and vastly more digital. Ten

years ago the digital economy for most was

still more about hyped floats and over-val-

ued companies. Now it is a profound reality

that is not just turning traditional retailing

on its head but also how auctions look, feel

and behave. I hope that one day the auction-

eer does not become some Disneyland-like

automated human model or a hologram but

I am happy with the idea that auction rooms

become cosy, small gatherings of people, tel-

ephones and technology connecting with the

entire world.

John Albrecht, Managing Director and Head

of Private & Corporate Collections

FILM PoSTERS

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, RKO, CIRCA 1940s REISSUE AUSTRALIAN DAYBILL POSTEREstimate $400 - $600

PETER PAN, RKO, 1954, AUSTRALIAN DAYBILL POSTEREstimate $200 - 400

GIles Moon and collectaBles

18 leonardMARCh

COlleCtables pReVIew

COLLECTABLES APRIL PREviEW

The ‘Non-Stop Robot’ was made by Japanese manufacturer Masudaya in the 1950s and is more commonly known as the ‘Lavender Robot’ due to its colour. It was the second in a series of 5 battery operated tinplate robots made by Masudaya from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. While all share the same skirted body and impressive size (15 inches tall), each differs in colour and the actions that it performs.This group are highly sought after by robot collectors and have been nicknamed the ‘Gang of Five’. Another of the Gang; an unboxed ‘Giant Sonic Robot’ (aka ‘Train Robot) was sold by Leonard Joel in 2010 for $5,040 (IBP) The Lavender Robot (pictured) will be offered in the forthcoming Collectables auction on 1 April and is in excellent overall condition with relatively little wear. It also has its original colourfully illustrated box which is rare and significantly increases its value.

The Collectables AuctionSunday 1 April 2012, 12pm



MASUDAYA NON-STOP ‘LAVENDER’ ROBOT CIRCA 1959 Estimate $6,500 - $8,500

19 MARChleonard

1. Very few people would know that you

oversee the selling of photographic work

by Wolfgang Sievers – how do people buy

a work from your collection? If I could just

go back a step. I actually have two collec-

tions of Sievers works. The first is the Born

to See series that I bought from Wolfgang.

The second, which is the one we are talking

about, was given to me by Wolfgang a year

or so later, for the sole purpose of raising

funds for human rights causes. I was actually

approached by a mutual friend and I immedi-

ately said Yes.

Not long after about fourteen Kodak boxes

arrived containing the collection. They are

all signed on the reverse and while Wolf-

gang was still alive I had him sign a number

of the ones that I had mounted, some sixty

or so. In terms of how people can actually

buy a work from this collection, there are a

number of ways. We actually sold a number

in an exhibition at Nellie Castan gallery not

long before Wolfgang’s death. Now many are

sold by word of mouth or by people simply

contacting me. They can see the works on my

website (www.julianburnside.com.au). Once

they have agreed the work and the price I

simply tell them such and such a cause to

make the cheque payable to. But I have also

given prints to various human rights groups

that I think are worth supporting, so they can

mount an exhibition and keep the proceeds.

2. Am I correct that the collection for sale

is in effect a charitable gallery; with every

purchase dollar going to your human

rights causes? Yes. Whether they are works

being sold by me or by human rights groups,

every dollar goes to the designated human

rights cause. The “providing” of works to

other causes has also been very effective and

in fact both methods of sale have remained

simple and very effective. I have a particu-

lar interest in assisting charities that do not

enjoy a tax deductible status as these are the

ones that usually have the most trouble rais-

ing money. To date the photos have raised

about $300,000 and other than the cost of

mounting and framing some of the photos, it

has been an entirely cost-free exercise.

3. What causes do Wolfgang Sievers dol-

lars go to? Did his legacy provide particu-

lar parameters for suitable causes? No,

it was essentially left up to me. Wolfgang

had an interest in refugee and human rights

causes as I do so there was no real issue here.

In terms of causes and given my particular

interest in the status and protection of refu-

gees, most of the funds raised assist this area.

4. Did serendipity play a part in Wolf-

gang leaving you his collection or was

your relationship more significant than

say, a chance meeting or two? I did not get

to know Wolfgang until I was approached

to buy his Born to See series. I had also had

some brief earlier contact with Wolfgang

about some refugee matters which was also

a cause of interest to him. At that time he

needed to raise funds for his daughter who

was living overseas. It was actually a couple

of years later that I was approached by Wolf-

gang to take on the task of selling the charita-

ble works for Wolfgang.

5. When you look at Wolfgang Sievers’

works, what do you see in them that you

don’t see in say, a Dupain or a work by

Cotton? You know, I saw this question on

the list and I decided it wasn’t one I could

really answer. My own collecting has been

mainly paintings and a few photographs and

is fairly idiosyncratic. And I’d have to say that

holding this extraordinary collection hasn’t

prompted me to seek out other photographic

works although I have bought a few. I’m for-

tunate enough to be grossly over-stocked

with artworks which I try and lend out to

friends. I don’t like the idea of storing works

in cupboards and boxes so I try and get as

many up on walls as possible – I find the idea

of art in storage or in boxes a bit unhappy.

6. Do you collect photography yourself or

are you simply a seller of photography? I

am not a seller of art work at all, other than

the photographs Wolfgang gave me. In fact,

I have never actually sold anything from my

own collection.

7. Robert Hughes has always commented

on the absurdity (mostly) of paintings

realizing “millions of dollars”. What are

your thoughts when a photograph like

Andreas Gursky’s realises “millions of

dollars”? I think art at the “ultra top end”

is not really about art but more about a mar-

ket for unique things and with a fair dash of

fashion thrown in. I don’t think I can add

anything more to this answer as it’s really not

my territory.

8. Do you feel there is any significant

public benefit in the exhibiting and trans-

acting of art or do you think it is mostly

a sport for the dispassionate rich? Well, I

have mixed feelings about this. I think show-

ing art is great but I have a real problem with

(and you might not like me saying this) the

secondary market for living artists as I think

acquiring at auction is more about mercantile

interests than about supporting the art and

the artist. And it worries me that so called

“great supporters of the arts” are often found

looking for bargains at auction or buying safe

stuff by dead people rather than supporting

the galleries that support the artists.

9. Is there a subject or building or place

that you wished Wolfgang Sievers had

executed as a photograph but didn’t? Yes.

I would like to have seen photos by Sievers

of the Abbottsford Convent and maybe the

Sydney Opera House or the Harbour Bridge

– perhaps the last two are a little too obvious.

The old BHP building maybe, on the corner

of Williams and Bourke Street would also be

an image I would like to have seen because he

did some wonderful works of the AMP build-

ing opposite.

an InteRVIew

IT IS A noT Too WIDELY KnoWn FACT ThAT In JULIAn BURnSIDE’S ChAMBERS

In MELBoURnE RESIDES A LEGACY FRoM onE oF AUSTRALIA’S MoST FAMoUS

PhoToGRAPhERS ThAT PERFECTLY CoMBInES ThE SELLInG oF ART WITh ThE FUnDInG

oF REFUGEE SUPPoRT GRoUPS. John ALBREChT, MAnAGInG DIRECToR oF LEonARD

JoEL InTERVIEWS JULIAn BURnSIDE, Ao QC ABoUT ThIS VERY ACTIVE CoLLECTIon.

ThE QC AnDWoLFGAnG SIEVERS

InTERESTED In PURChASInG A

WoRK FRoM ThE WoLFGAnG

SIEVERS CoLLECTIon AT JULIAn

BURnSIDE AnD SUPPoRTInG

REFUGEE SUPPoRT GRoUPS

AT ThE SAME TIME?

Simply visit www.julianburnside.

com and go to “Wolfgang

Sievers photographs for

sale” under “The Arts”.

20 leonardMARCh

What are moral rights?

For newspapers and their readers the New

Year period is known as the “silly season”

due to the inclusion of stories that would not

normally be newsworthy at any other time

of the year. A particularly silly story from

December 2011 concerned a Melbourne “art-

ist” who, inspired by a dream, deep-fried an

inherited Sidney Nolan artwork and then

sold the altered work on e-bay to raise funds

for an arts space.

But is there more to this story than meets the

eye?

At first glance it appears little more than a

stunt attempting to create controversy. Art

consultant Michael Reid said “it just strikes

me as a pathetic, undergraduate and possi-

ble attention-seeking thing to do.” The frier

of the Nolan, Andy Wear, who holds a doc-

torate of philosophy, defended his actions

by saying “it wasn’t an aesthetical work and

even as a family heirloom it had little value.”

He claims not to be an artist and hoped his

actions would encourage debate over what

constituted art.

Lost in this discussion is whether Wear actu-

ally had the right to do what he did to the

artwork. Unfortunately for him, no copyright

lawyer made an appearance inside his dream

to say that, despite Nolan passing away in

1989, deep-frying the work in question could

well be a breach of the artist’s moral rights.

Further, the 2010 case of Blackman v Gant

established a precedent for artists (and their

estates) wishing to protect their reputations

in cases where their copyright had been dis-

regarded. Due to this case there are now seri-

ous legal ramifications for such breaches.

So what are moral rights? In general terms, it

is a type of copyright that artists assert over

the works that they create. Moral rights are

personal rights that exist from the moment

copyright arises (which is when art is cre-

ated) and they cannot be assigned or sold.

The Copyright Act was amended in 2000 to

incorporate moral rights - in essence these

personal rights have been protected by stat-

ute for just over a decade.

There are three types of moral rights cur-

rently recognised in Australian law:

1. Artists have the right to be attributed for

their work, which requires a ‘reasonable’

form of identification to be adopted.

2. Artists have the right not to be falsely

attributed for their work.

3. Artists have the right of integrity, which

means that their work should not be treated

in a manner that is derogatory or that preju-

dices their reputation.

In relation to the last point, altering, add-

ing to or cropping artworks without consent

would breach the artist’s moral right.

Deep-frying a Sidney Nolan artwork would

appear to contravene the artist’s right of

integrity – particularly as the act itself was

filmed and posted online. The comments of

Wear seem to support the idea that he wished

to take Nolan’s reputation down a notch. “I

find it intriguing that just because a great art-

ist does it, it’s treasured”, he was quoted in

Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper.

Could there be a defence to this seeming

breach of the artist’s moral right? There are

two that could be relied upon:

1. The infringement was reasonable given

the circumstances; and

2. The artist (or his estate) consented to the

infringement.

It is hard to see how deep-frying an artwork

could be ‘reasonable’ and it is difficult to

imagine the estate of Sidney Nolan agreeing

to the act – but I will leave the interpretation

of the Copyright Act to those more suitably

qualified than me.

In any case Wear, a man with a high degree

of education, might have felt he was on safe

ground carrying out this stunt. The artwork

in question was a portrait of his grandfather,

who supposedly met and associated with

Nolan in the 1940s. If Wear’s grandfather

commissioned the artwork from Nolan, cop-

yright would not reside with the artist. (The

Copyright Act provides that the commis-

sioner of a portrait owns the copyright in that

work). In this case Andy Wear or his grandfa-

ther could not possibly breach Nolan’s copy-

right. Perhaps the real silly story for the New

Year period just gone should have been the

way people confuse copyright with moral

rights.

However, whatever way you look at it, the

even sillier story is that the deep-fried art-

work that sold for only $115 on e-bay could

have been left in the expert hands of Leonard

Joel untouched and raised many multiples of

that sum for Mr Wear’s arts space.

aRt busIness

Michael Fox is a qualified accountant and

professional fine art valuer who successfully

ran the Save Super Art campaign to prevent

the prohibition of artworks from self-managed

superannuation funds (SMSFs). He is a member

of the Leonard Joel Valuation Panel and is

engaged exclusively by Leonard Joel to provide

advice to their clients in relation to artwork

investment in SMSFs. He may be contacted at

[email protected].

ARTBUSINESS

“WHen tHe CRitiCs CoMe ARound it’s AlWAys too lAte”SIR SIDNEY NOLAN

By MIcHael fox

21 MARChleonard

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leonard, issue 4, march 2012

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