On 17 and 18 September, PIASA will auction Pierre Loos' prestigious collection dedicated to the African continent. These two days of sales will be divided into three shifts: the first will be devoted to the precious ethnographic objects collected in Africa, but also in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent; they will be gathered in more than 600 lots. The second session will present a remarkable collection of photographs by Casimir Zagourski, which bear witness to life in the Congo region in the first decades of the 20th century. Finally, the third session will feature some forty exceptional paintings from the Congolese Modern School, painted between the late 1920s and 1960s.
"The more objects from elsewhere in all countries, the more bridges there will be between worlds and cultures. At a time when some people are building walls, I prefer to build bridges " Pierre Loos
Desfossés, Pili Pili, Bela et Kalela – Untitled, 1952
Oil on Unalit Panels (Isorel)
Lequime Family's Order, Elisabethville, Belgium Congo.
180 x 240 cm
Estimate 150 000 – 250 000 €
Result: 238 400 €
From his first trips to Congo, Pierre Loos became aware of the artistic importance of the Congolese artists of the Modern School and collected works that remained in the shadow of the early arts. The extraordinary ensemble he has patiently assembled is today one of the most important in the world; some of his paintings formed the core of the Beauté Congo exhibition presented at the Fondation Cartier in 2014, which gave this art the primordial place it deserves.
This passion for Africa came as a matter of course to Pierre Loos. Born in Belgium from a father who collected paintings, he combines this family interest in art with his own passion for travel and began, in the 1960s, to collect the testimonies of an "Africa that is disappearing". His life was then divided between Congo and Belgium. In 1974, he founded the Ambre-Congo gallery. Located in the Sablons district of Brussels, it has been the must-see meeting place for collectors of early art for forty years.
First Sale, Monday 17 September
Primitive Arts and Ethnography. 50 years of travel and discovery
Pierre Loos' incredible collection of objects from Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent is remarkable from both an aesthetic and ethnographic point of view. Lover of objects, shapes and materials, Pierre Loos has chosen each element as the testimony of an artistic and cultural refinement. Their experience is essential because their patina tells a story: the story of the people who created them.
With more than 400 lots, this session will present ornaments, Pierre Loos' first passion. With their opulent shapes or pure lines, these jewellery and coins bear witness to a unique know-how. They will be accompanied by fetishes, ceremonial masks, funeral stelae and votive, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic statuettes.
Finely carved stools, beds carved from a single tree trunk, Dogon ladders, ritual weapons, pottery, fabrics, basketry and kuba fabrics will also be offered for sale as precious creations of African civilizations. The estimates will range from 200 to 4,000 euros.
Second Sale, Tuesday 18 September
Photograph. Casimir Zagourski, portraitist and witness of the people
Casimir Zagourski (1883-1944) - Reine Mère Série II, 99
Photograph on Agfa lux paper - Captioned and signed - 27,5 x 39,5 cm
Exhibition : International Exhibition, Paris, 1937 ; Ambre Congo, Brussels, 2001 ; Smithonian Institute, Washington, 2002 ; Zacheta, Varsovie, 2005
Estimate 5 000 – 7 000 €
Result: 13 000 €
Pierre Loos has always had a particular taste for photography. It is the last reflection of the civilizations that are disappearing. His collection offers a special place to Casimir Zagourski (1883-1944). Polish photographer, established in 1924 in the Belgian Congo, he documents expeditions that lead him to the sources of the Nile. In a Europe fascinated by the African continent, Zagourski's work meets with an immense response. From 1935 onwards, Zagourski collected his prints in albums, all different, under the title "L'Afrique qui disparaît". A rare bound leather copy, known as the "Elephant Album", will be presented alongside some 100 of his other photographies, including some 60 large formats.
Third Sale, Tuesday 18 September
Modern African Art. An avant-garde approach.
Mwenze Kibwanga - Untitled, 1957
Oil on Unalit Pannel - Signed on the bottom right - 38 x 51,5 cm
Exhibition: Beauté Congo 1926-2015, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, 2015
Estimate 15 000 – 20 000 €
Result: 46 150 €
To close this exceptional sale, some fifty paintings from Pierre Loos' collection will be offered for sale. They form a unique ensemble dedicated to the precursors of African modern art. Collected by Pierre Loos, these paintings were created between 1926 and 1960 and are the precursors of a highly prized aesthetic today. They were first shown in 2014 at the Beauté Congo exhibition organized by the Fondation Cartier.
Modern Congolese painting officially began in the 1920s, when the Belgian administrator Georges Thiry, fascinated by the creations of Albert Lubaki and Djilatendo, decided to consider and promote them no longer as simple popular manifestations, but as works in themselves. He offered these artists material support that enabled them to exhibit in 1929 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, then in Geneva and Paris. A second period began in 1945 and lasted until the end of the 1960s, when artists emancipated themselves from colonial power. In 1946, the painter Pierre Romain-Desfossés founded his own studio, "le Hangar", which immediately became a major meeting place and creative centre. Mwenze Kibwanga and Bela formed themselves here. From this permanent exchange are born works that will be exhibited in Belgium or South Africa, Paris and London, Rome and MoMA in New York.
Djilatendo (1895-1930), Untitled, 1929
Chinese Ink and watercolour on paper
Signed and dated on the bottom right
Estimate 40 000 – 60 000 €
Result: 54 600 €
