AUCTIONS

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

The Collection of the Late John Schaeffer AO

The Collection of the Late John Schaeffer AO SYDNEY

OPPOSITE: SIR ALFRED GILBERT M.V.O RA (British, 1854-1934) Comedy and Tragedy: Sic Vita c. 1890-2 (cast later) bronze, rich mid and dark brown patination, on marble base Height 39cm $55,000-75,000

Expressions in Bronze: The Work of Alfred Gilbert —

Alfred Gilbert was the leading exponent of the New Sculpture movement in British art, which was coined by critic Edmund Gosse in an 1876 article in Art Journal. Gilbert looked to the idealism and athletic beauty of ancient Greek and Roman figurative sculpture and infused it with a physical and psychological expression. He was responsible for creating one of London’s grandest public sculptures, Eros Fountain in Piccadilly Circus (designed as a memorial to Lord Shaftsbury).

Comedy & Tragedy: Sic Vita belongs to a group of sculptures referred to as the Great Bronzes within Gilbert’s oeuvre. Within these iconic works, Gilbert achieved monumentality without sacrificing intimacy. The Schaeffer bronze is a reduced version of the original (a plaster of which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1892), produced by Gilbert for his expanding collectors’ market.

The complexity of form and symbolism distinguishes Comedy & Tragedy: Sic Vita. Gilbert’s technical virtuosity is apparent in the contrapposto arrangement of the figure pivoting on one foot. Movements oppose, as the naked boy thrusts a comic mask in one direction while twisting his upper body the other to observe a bee stinging his left calf. Gilbert guides the viewer’s eye around the sculpture to reveal a complex narrative contained within. The spectator appreciates the work from multiple viewpoints. The young boy is shown from one angle holding a comic mask and from another, grimacing in pain a bee sting. The symbolism informing the contrasting emotions and tension within the sculpture was explained by Gilbert:

"…represents a boy carrying a comic mask. He is stung by a bee – the symbol of love. He turns, and his face becomes tragic. The symbol is in reality fact. I was strung […] by my love for my art, a consciousness of its incompleteness. […] I was living a kind of double life at that time, enjoying the society of Irving and Toole and other famous and pleasant members of the Garrick Club going to the theatre at night, and with Tragedy in my private life, living my Comedy publicly, if not enjoying it." While outwardly successful (the smiling comic mask), Gilbert was trapped in a spiral of debt, disputes over uncompleted commissions and anxiety about his sick wife (the tormented face of the boy). The Latin subtitle to the work means ‘Thus is life’. Gilbert’s ability to combine contrasting expressions within the one figure was testament to his brilliance.

JANE MESSENGER / Independent Writer

IMPORTANT JEWELS

A Magnificent Collection

Important Jewels Auction Wed 26 Aug, 6.30pm SYDNEY

ABOVE: 18CT FANCY GRAY-BLUE AND PINK DIAMOND AND DIAMOND RING $450,000-550,000

LEFT: PLATINUM AND DIAMOND ART DECO BRACELET $150,000-200,000 Inaugurating our first Important Jewels sale, I have curated an array of exceptional jewels from the early 20th Century to the present, along with an exquisite selection of colourless and coloured diamonds of the finest quality and world-class standard.

Led by an exceptional 9.02 carat fancy vivid yellow internally flawless diamond estimated at $650,000 to $750,000, the sale also features a sensational fancy gray-blue and pink diamond toi et moi ring, a dazzling 17.34 carat emerald cut diamond mounted in platinum estimated at $450,000 to $550,000, a magnificent Art Deco diamond bracelet estimated at $150,000 to $200,000 and many interesting and collectable jewels from the iconic houses of Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., David Webb and Buccellati, sure to appeal to seasoned collectors and first buyers alike.

HAMISH SHARMA / Head of Important Jewels

Important Jewels Auction Wed 26 August 6.30pm SYDNEY

OPPOSITE: Hamish Sharma, Head of Important Jewels, at our Sydney Saleroom, The Bond 36-40 Queen Street, Woollahra NSW. We are thrilled to welcome Hamish Sharma to the team as the Head of Important Jewels, an exciting new department at Leonard Joel. Based in our Sydney saleroom, Hamish will curate and present three Important Jewels auctions annually, focusing on exceptional diamonds and coloured gemstones, along with signed jewels from iconic international design houses.

We sit down with Australia’s most credentialed auction jewellery expert to find out more about where his fascination and passion for jewellery began and learn about his plans for this new category at Leonard Joel.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background in auctions and jewels. My love of jewellery began at a very early age, whilst rummaging through my mother’s trinket box and as a child following her around countless jewellery stores in Delhi. My career in jewels began in retail sales in New Zealand following on from which I studied gemmology, leading me into jewellery design. I would travel frequently to the gemstone cutting centres of Mumbai, Jaipur and Bangkok, sourcing diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies. As a trader in antique jewellery through leading international auction houses in Geneva, London, and New York, I developed a thorough understanding of the auction industry and was appointed Head of Jewels of Sotheby’s Australia in 2010. My personal journey has evolved from looking at jewels solely from a value centric perspective to an admiration and appreciation for design led jewels as works of precious, wearable art.

Could you tell us about what you are looking for as you consign for Leonard Joel’s new Important Jewels auctions? As a jeweller, as I am feeling the jewel and turning it around, I am looking at value; that is, how rare and exceptional the gemstones are. Then I’m looking at the design, the quality of the workmanship and the finish. As an auctioneer, I then turn to the jewel’s provenance and the story the jewel is concealing. Since jewellery is associated with love and the celebration of milestones along the journey of life, I try to flesh out this context, to find the human-interest story. At a commercial level, I am looking for jewels that are fresh to market and have not been seen before in an auction setting.

Is there one especially memorable piece of jewellery that has passed through your hands over the years? I have been involved in the curation and auction of many exceptional jewels, however, one of my most memorable experiences relates to the discovery in March 2019 of a unique and rare Cartier Egyptian inspired jewel from the 1920s. Sifting through the client’s jewellery box, nestled at the bottom I spotted an open work white metal plaque centring an Egyptian lotus vase motif decorated with pear-shaped, rose-cut and old mine-cut diamonds between calibré-cut onyx, framed by a similarly set architectural surround, centred on a later Van Cleef & Arpels three strand pearl collar. On louping the centrepiece, I identified the pendant/brooch as a rare work by Jacques Cartier from the London workshop. Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922 ushered in a wave of Egyptomania in Europe and across the Atlantic, and the motifs informed the fashion, parties, and theatre of the day. In his timeless designs, Jacques Cartier maintained the integrity of the ancient styles whilst updating the motifs for modern audiences. I auctioned this piece in May 2019. It attracted a lot of international bidding and sold for $95,000, triple the lower estimate.

Is there any advice you would give to a person looking for their next investment piece? Practically, it is very important that a buyer seeks out an auctioneer that they can relate to and trust, with experience across the fields of diamond and gemstone buying, a familiarity of jewellery manufacturing for evaluating quality and condition, and the ability to determine the integrity and authenticity of an item. More personally, I encourage buyers to explore their own style. Today’s fashion frames antique jewellery perfectly; you only need one piece as a wonderful spotlight to define your style and individuality.

Hamish is now consigning for Important Jewels, and will present his first auction at Leonard Joel Sydney on 26 August.