Prehistoric times to the present at Koller
EIt seems that even the Koller auction house cannot escape the primeval lizard mania: Thanks to the sixth “Jurassic Park” film, the cinemas are full again as they were before the pandemic, and the adventure exhibition “Dinosaurs – In the Primeval Empire” is making guest appearances in numerous German cities “. The top lot in Koller’s “Out of This World” event, which opens the summer auction series in Zurich on June 28, presents a 145-million-year-old battle scene in Solnhofener Plattenkalk: the fossil of a pterodactyl being attacked by a similarly fossilized primeval fish. The 82 by 85 centimeter record comes from a Swiss private collection and is expected to bring in 500,000 to 800,000 francs.
The complete skeleton of a Pteranodon, the famous Cretaceous pterosaur, with a wingspan of three meters is estimated at 120,000 to 200,000 francs. A lunar meteorite weighing 348 grams, 3.1 to 4.4 billion years old, is also called up (tax CHF 60,000 to 90,000). Natural finds are joined by memorabilia such as Michael Jackson’s crystal glove, which the singer wore on his “Victory” tour (50,000/70,000). The 107 lots should bring in a total of 1.4 million Swiss francs.
On June 30th we continue with contemporaries. At the top is Gerhard Richter’s 1995 abstract painting “Kine”. The canvas, measuring 124 by 90 centimeters, was bought by the current owner in 1997 and is estimated at three to five million Swiss francs. Andy Warhol delivers one of his animal portraits from the “Cats and Dogs” series: “Broadway” from 1976 shows an oversized acrylic painting of a cat (400,000/600,000). Eduardo Chillida is represented with an untitled ink composition from 1989 (130,000/160,000), while Romare Bearden’s small collage of watercolour, oil and fabric remnants was created nine years earlier. “Mecklenberg, Evening” is part of a series Bearden made inspired by his home in North Carolina. The central theme of the pictures, along with the lives of black working-class families, are memories (120,000/180,000).
The following day, 132 lots of Swiss art are put up for auction. With his 38 by 55 centimeter small oil painting “Kastanienallee bei Biberist” from 1898, Ferdinand Hodler presents the top lot: it captures trees in rich yellow on the canvas with fascinating clarity. Since its creation, the work has been in the private collection of the Swiss paper manufacturer Oscar Miller, one of Hodler’s most important patrons; Now it should solve 2.5 to four million francs. Miller was also friends with Giovanni Giacometti, who painted his 120 by 150 cm Panorama View of Maloja and the Hotel Palace in 1899 (650,000/850,000). And of course gold-plated: no Swiss art auction without Albert Anker. His delicate portrait of a girl with a cat from 1881 is estimated at 1.5 to 2.2 million Swiss francs; the slightly smaller painting of a girl drinking coffee from 1870, on the back of which is a portrait of a man with a pipe, is said to bring in 300,000 to 400,000 francs.