FEATURES ARCHIVE

What inspired you to study art history?
Art was my father’s passion and it inspired me too, he would often take me to museums and galleries when I was a young girl. We lived in Maastricht, a small town in the south of Holland, bordering Belgium and Germany. In fact, because we lived closer to Paris I did not visit Amsterdam until I was 11. I am the eldest of five children, and it was my father’s hope that one of his children would study the history of art; it turned out to be me.

What led you to channel your passion for art into the auction world?
I studied at a university in the north of Holland, where I was taught by some exceptional professors, including Henk van Os later Director of the Rijksmuseum and Wim Beeren, who later became Director of the Stedelijk Museum. However I decided to move to another university in Leiden where they had a department specifically focusing on arts and crafts. It was half an hour from The Hague and Amsterdam, bringing the art I was studying within my reach. I chose the auction world because it allows you a tangible relationship with art; I do enjoy visiting museums, because it reminds me of the differences in quality and helps me to train my eye, but working for an auction house is the closest you can get to art. You are advising people and supporting their passion and helping them to create their collection.

What led you to specialise in silver and jewellery?
My family love jewellery. In the South of Holland, as in Belgium and Germany, it is more common to grow up with jewellery and silver. My grandparents gave their grandchildren pieces for special occasions. But when I got to Amsterdam, they said “you can’t wear diamonds before 5 o’clock!” Jewellery is very interesting; in addition to their beauty, every piece of jewellery has a story all on its own.

In your time as a certified valuer and specialist, you must have come across many interesting private collections. What is the most exciting discovery you have made?
Some have been nice and some have been sad. I was lecturing in Switzerland on one occasion and was approached by an old lady who wanted to know the value of a diamond that she had managed to keep hold of when her family were evacuated during WWII. She was in a Japanese camp with her mother, who had hidden it in the seam of her clothing and evaded the soldiers. The lady pulled the most beautiful diamond out of her purse to show me. It was an ld-cut diamond, weighing about six carats and was a bit yellowish, originating from the Dutch Indies, now Indonesia. She didn’t have a clue how much it was worth and it took two years to sell, finally realising €150,000 in Amsterdam and going to an Asian buyer. The money went to her nieces and nephews and we have remained friends.

How have you seen the auction business change over the past ten years?
The level of personal service has grown considerably since I started here in 1983; there is less distance between us and our clients. We focus on building a professional but close relationship, which I believe reduces the trepidation some people feel in crossing the Christie’s threshold!

What has been your greatest moment as an auctioneer?
The greatest moments are when, having prepared a sale very carefully and worked closely with my clients and the various departments at Christie’s, someone unexpected walks into your saleroom and buys an important lot. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment because you have been part of the process. In the most recent jewellery auction, I advised a woman to change the mount of her diamond ring to make it more up-to-date and wearable; this level of involvement really makes a difference once you are in the saleroom selling this lot.

You have such diverse expertise with specialist knowledge of porcelain, silver and jewellery in particular – if you could meet one artist or craftsman from any period, who would you choose? And why?
I would love to meet the Cartier Brothers in the belle Epoque period. These jewellers were great designers. They travelled around the world to buy diamonds, and the rich and famous lined up to order something extravagant. Nowadays the Cartier Museum in Geneva shows the most amazing examples of their craftsmanship.