These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more

PROPERTY FROM THE RUDOLF SCHMIDT (1900-1970) COLLECTION Rudolf Schmidt and his sister Erica were born to the successful industrialist Jakob Oskar Schmidt and his wife Emma Schmidt-Muller, patron of the arts. They grew up in the milieu of artists such as Ferdinand Hodler, who painted portraits of both Emma and Erica, Giovanni Giacometti, Hans Berger, and Cuno Amiet. Their cousin Monique married Jean-Paul Barbier who together created the Barbier-Müller museum in Geneva. Graduating as an economist, Rudolf Schmidt’s passion was directed towards collecting. Beginning in the 1930s and stimulated by his travels in Iran in the same decade, he began acquiring Luristan bronzes and Near Eastern seals, encouraged further by his encounter with Elie Borowski in the mid-1940s. Other fields of interest were in the arts of Africa, ancient Egypt and the Etruscan, Greek, and Roman world. He was fortunate to start collecting Egyptian stone vases at an optimum time in the 1950s through dealers, significantly Nicolas Koutalakis, when there was still a legitimate antiquities’ trade in Egypt. The highlights of the Schmidt collection are those from the Early Dynastic Period, Dynasty I-III (circa 3100-2647 B.C.). These vessels, made following the unification of Egypt in 3100 B.C., reflect a time of unity and strength, when quarrying expeditions for unusual and colourful stone were undertaken beyond the Nile Valley: diorite, greywacke and serpentine were found in the mountains of the Eastern Desert, basalt North of the Fayum, while anorthosite gneiss was quarried from the region of Abu Simbel in Nubia. The prerogative of royalty, these vases display the honed skill of the master craftsman, which was unsurpassed in later periods. While the first dynasties encompassed practically every type of hard stone available, the Old Kingdom favoured alabaster, a softer material, with a period of revival in the 5th-6th Dynasty. Rudolf Schmidt took a prominent role in the artistic and intellectual life of Zurich and Basel, lending to major post-war exhibitions. The family gifted segments of the collection to Swiss Institutions - the University of Fribourg, the Archaeological and Rietberg museums in Zurich, Solothurn and Basel. Forty years after the collector’s death a comprehensive exhibition was mounted in the Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, 25 March to 31 July 2011, entitled Ägypten, Orient und die Schweizer Moderne, Die Sammlung Rudolf Schmidt (1900-1970). Christine Insley Green

AN EGYPTIAN PORPHYRITIC DIORITE PESTLE

PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN PORPHYRITIC DIORITE PESTLE
PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
Elongated shape, one side with six horizontal grooves and one end flattened
4¾ in. (12 cm.) long

Provenance

Dr. Rudolf Schmidt (1900-1970) collection, Solothurn, acquired 5th May 1953 from N. Koutoulakis, Paris (blatt 060 recto), thence by descent to the present owner.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Francesca Hickin

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

fhickin@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3195

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

More from Antiquities

View All