A BRONZE INKWELL IN THE FORM OF A SEASHELL HELD ALOFT BY A DOLPHIN

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This magnificent group of Renaissance bronzes forms part of one of the most rigorously academic collections of works of art formed anywhere in the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Beit collection is exceptional for having been formed at a time when English and England-based collectors were declining in number and vigour. The collection is further distinguished for having been formed with the advice of probably the greatest art historian of the time. The largest part of the group was collected by Alfred Beit (1853-1906), a pioneer of gold and diamond mining in South Africa, with the constant advice of the Berlin museum director Wilhelm von Bode (1845-1929). After Alfred Beit's death the collection was augmented by his brother Sir Otto Beit, 1st Bt. (1865-1930), who continued to be advised by Bode. After 1952 the collection was housed and magnificently exhibited at Russborough, Co. Wicklow, bought by Sir Otto's son, Sir Alfred Beit, 2nd. Bt. (1903-1994), who also added significant paintings. ALFRED BEIT (1853-1906) Among the energetic entrepreneurs who created the South African mining industry, the triumvirate of Cecil Rhodes, Julius Wernher and Alfred Beit stands out above the remainder. Beit is the least well known of the three, possibly then as well as now, but that is entirely a reflection of his shy and retiring nature rather than any lack of importance. His critical role in partnerships with both Rhodes and Wernher has long been recognised. He had 'abnormal intuition and power of memory, combined with thoroughness of method' that together made him 'an extraordinarily successful mining magnate' (D.N.B.). He was utterly devoid of social ambition, in contrast to the more demonstrative Wernher, and he was a bachelor. Brought up in Hamburg, and trained in the diamond business in Amsterdam, Beit reached the centre of diamond mining in Kimberley in 1875. His association with Wernher began there in 1882. The 1880s saw his years of collaboration with Cecil Rhodes in consolidating the diamond mines of the area. Although Beit moved to England in 1889, he continued frequent visits to Africa and played a vital part in the development of the Rand goldfields in the early 1890s. Beit justified his move to England to his German parents in terms of its more conducive business environment, and he took English nationality in due course. Initially he had rooms in Prince's Chambers in Ryder Street, St. James's, then and now directly behind Christie's main rooms. His initial collecting was for these rooms in Ryder Street and it is irresistible to speculate whether he ventured into Christie's at this time. WILHELM VON BODE It is not surprising that Alfred Beit and Julius Wernher, both native German speakers, should have been the two English collectors lucky enough to be advised by the legendary German museum director, Wilhelm von Bode (1845-1929). In the thirty years before the First World War, Bode was one of the most respected and powerful figures in the European art world, simultaneously advising collectors and expanding the Berlin Museum. His expertise as a scholar was very highly regarded and supported by major publications, including a great eight volume collaborative work on Rembrandt. Bode seems to have been uniquely able to combine successfully the role of museum director with that of advisor to leading collectors. It is an ironic part of the story, and one certainly not lost on Alfred Beit, that Bode was regarded as a dangerous predator in England. The last quarter of the 19th century saw the start of the break up of the great country house collections and Bode exploited the opportunity to the full, both for Berlin and the new generation of collectors. In the period from around 1890, when he met Bode, until his death in 1906, Beit must have been almost alone in Britain in forming a world class collection of old master paintings and bronzes. The relationship between collector and adviser is often exaggerated or downplayed to suit either party. This was not the case with the relationship between Alfred Beit and Bode. It is thought that Wernher met Bode first, through their mutual friendship with the brothers Rodolphe and Maurice Kann, also German by origin but by then living in Paris. The Kanns suggested that Wernher buy bronzes on the advice of Bode and Alfred Beit met him soon afterwards. Raleigh Trevelyan, the biographer of the Wernher family, has convincingly suggested that the shy Bode found Alfred Beit extremely congenial and they were to become great friends. In his introduction to the privately printed catalogue of Beit's bronzes, Bode wrote that his collecting had begun in 1891, with the dispersal of the collection of Isaac Falcke (d.1909), one of the leading connoisseurs of the day. Nothing better illustrates the curious situation of potentially divided loyalty in which Bode must daily have found himself. Bode divided the Falcke collection between the Berlin museums, of which he was director from 1890, and Alfred Beit, a recipe for disagreement. A measure of the quality of Falcke's collection is that he described the forced sale as 'the great regret of his life'. Falcke retained his collection of Wedgwood porcelain which was given to the British Museum in 1909, to general approval. SIR OTTO BEIT, 1ST. BT., (1865-1930) When Alfred Beit died in 1906, his will was among the most charitable ever recorded, beginning a tradition that the family continues to this day. He most prominently left £1.2m for the foundation of the Beit Trust. Orignally called the Beit Railway Trust, it orignally made grants to improve communications in what are now Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Its most famous contribution is the bridge over the Limpopo between South Africa and Zimbabwe, at Beitbridge. The Trust no longer makes grants for improving communications but its focus is on educational and healthcare institutions in those countries. It celebrates its centenary in 2006 with a major project in each country. The major personal beneficiary of Alfred's will was his brother Otto, who inherited the bronze collection in its entirety. He soon moved from Alfred's house in Park Lane, which 'having been built for a bachelor' was unsuitable for Otto's family life. It is clear from both the title ('Catalogue of the Collection... in the possession of Mr Otto Beit'), and from what Bode wrote in the introduction, that Otto actively added to the collection. Bode wrote that 'the writer of these lines has always taken a personal interest in the collection, almost as great as that of the owner himself. His long friendship of many years's standing with both brothers enabled him to foster their taste for early art, and to assist them actively, and with practical advice'. Alfred's house at 26 Park Lane had been built for him by Eustace Balfour in 1894-5. It was variously described as an 'enlarged bungalow' or 'more like an encampment than a solid English house'. Otto bought the Duke of Richmond's house in Belgrave Square and moved the collection there 'making considerable alterations in order to render the house more suitable for its reception'. The collection was also partly housed at Tewin Water, an 18th century house in Hertfordshire that Alfred Beit had bought in 1900. Despite a resolutely 18th century exterior, the previous owner had decorated the interior in the style of the Renaissance, a suitable setting for the early paintings and bronzes of both Alfred and Otto Beit. SIR ALFRED BEIT (1903-1994) One of the interesting aspects of the collection is the sustained interest shown in it by successive owners. Sir Alfred Beit, son of Sir Otto, served in the R.A.F. in the Second World War and after some time living in South Africa, he went to live in Ireland in 1952. With his wife Clementine he created the Alfred Beit Foundation. They subsequently gave seventeen of their greatest old master paintings to the National Gallery of Ireland, one of the largest donations to a museum in their generation and worthy of the family that founded the Beit Trust. It was also a reflection of the outstanding cultural interest of Sir Alfred and his wife. The collection did not stand still under his care. He acquired the great Oudry Indian Black Buck with three white hounds on the London art market in 1961. He was also able to reacquire the set of four marine scenes by Vernet for the hall at Russborough. PROPERTY OF THE ALFRED BEIT FOUNDATION (LOTS 137-198)

A BRONZE INKWELL IN THE FORM OF A SEASHELL HELD ALOFT BY A DOLPHIN

MASTER OF THE DUPLICATED DOLPHINS, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE INKWELL IN THE FORM OF A SEASHELL HELD ALOFT BY A DOLPHIN
MASTER OF THE DUPLICATED DOLPHINS, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY
The dolphin with his tail curled under the seashell and resting his head on another shell; the underside inscribed with a red collection number '288'; warm chocolate brown patina with traces of a darker brown surface
2 7/8 in. (7.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Purchased by Alfred Beit (1853-1906) by 1904.
Thence by descent to Lady (Clementine) Beit (1915-2005) by whom donated to the Alfred Beit Foundation in 2005.

Literature

W. Bode, The Art Collection of Mr. Alfred Beit at His Residence 26 Park Lane London, Berlin, 1904, as 'Venetian, second half 16th century'.
W. Bode, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures and Bronzes in the Possession of Mr. Otto Beit, London, 1913, p. 117, no. 288, as 'Italian (probably Florentine)'.
W. Bode, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, ed. and rev. by J. Draper, New York, 1980, pp. 102 and 110, pls. CLXV and CCLXI.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The present salt cellar combines a seashell which has been cast from life, supported by the tail of an artfully conceived dolphin. When Bode included this bronze in his pioneering book, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance (loc. cit.), he described it as 'Venetian, about 1575'. It must be by the same hand that created a group of domestic objects - mainly inkwells - which also includes the models for lots 185 and 186. An inkwell in the Victoria and Albert Museum incorporates both the small dolphin here on the back of the large dolphin seen on lot 185 (Bode, op. cit., p. 110, pl. CCLXI). A less finely cast example, which also lacks the second shell under the snout of the dolphin, is illustrated in the catalogue of the Farnese collection edited by Sylvia Cassani (La Collezione Farnese - Le arti decorative, Naples, 1996, pp. 73-74, no. 2.83).

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