'Mooi Indie' works dominate local auction

By Boudewijn Brands

JAKARTA (JP): On Kartini day last Sunday, the joint auctioneers, Larasati-Glerum South East Asia, set records again in their second sale. The event attracted at least 500 people, of which 240 were active bidders.

Of 208 lots, 170 were sold for a total amount of Rp 10.45 billion. This is an increase of 12 percent over the turnover received last year. The sale was conducted in rupiah. However, on the screen showing both a picture of the work for sale and the price in progress during the auction, amounts in foreign currency were shown at the same time.

What was surprising was the exchange rates used: US$1=Rp 12,000; S$1= Rp 6,500 and NLG 1=Rp 5000. So those with foreign exchange to spend had a good time if they watched the prices in those currencies. And some really good prices were achieved: lot 49, a work by Le Man Fong originally acquired in the Hague in l950, went for Rp 340 million. The audience applauded when Rp 320 million was reached.

At 2.30 p.m, one and a half hours after the official starting time, auction master Rob Mulders brought the gavel down on an early Raden Saleh for Rp 1 billion. However, we did not find this painting, lot 64, in the results list. This might have been due to the exchange rates as the seller had probably set a limit in dollars. So, this amount was not included in the sales figure total of more than Rp 10 billion.

Lot 88 Sarong Bugis by Mochtar Apin, received applause when Rp 250 million was reached. It was sold for Rp 260 million. The most expensive item was lot 37 Ni Polok one of many by Adrien Le Mayeur de Merpres, which went for a staggering Rp 2.3 billion. This is nearly half a million guilders or a mere US$191.700 (all excluding auction surcharges). An Indonesian collector bought the piece.

A total of 208 lots were originally for sale. The offers came from both European and local collectors. According to Rob Mulders, most Mooi Indie ( or pre-war art with Indonesia a subject made mostly by foreign artists) still comes from Europe. A prominent Indonesian collector had offered 14 works for sale from his collection of about 200 works on this occasion. Amir Sidharta introduced him in the catalog in a sympathetic way. From the description of his business activities he could be recognized by Indonesians, but he was discreetly referred to as "a gentleman."

This seemed to stimulate other collectors. Lot 170, A Foot Massage on the Beach of Bali produced in 1972 by Hendra Gunawan fetched a record price of Rp 650 million. It was found in an attic in Amsterdam, and in remarkably good condition for that.

Also interesting was the relatively large number of works by William Hofker offered for sale: 18 lots. Six of them could be identified as having been offered earlier in Glerum's auction of the estate of the late Maria Hofker-Reuter that took place on May 21, 2000 in Amsterdam (see The Jakarta Post of Dec. 17, 2000).

The innovation here was that some of them had nothing to do with Indonesia but were beautifully executed works of places in Copenhagen or Italy. Willem Hofker's self-portrait with beard, lot 208 at Glerum's, was now offered as lot 71 in Larasati- Glerum's sale and auctioned off in Jakarta for Rp 100 million. It shows that appreciation of his work in Indonesia goes further than just sweet scenes from Bali. This shows that the market has become more mature.

In line with Glerum's pioneer spirit, another experiment was introduced. Rob Mulders felt that the taste of the Indonesian collector is still relatively conservative. As an example: abstract work is relatively less well appreciated here than in Europe. So he offered for sale in Jakarta an abstract painting by Adolf Breetvelt (lot 105). This artist, born in l892, did work in Indonesia before the World War II. We do not know if the Abstract Composition sold here was created before or after his return to the Netherlands in l938. The work was however offered for sale in the Netherlands and went under the hammer at Rp 45 million.

Works of young Indonesian artists did very well in this auction. They were sold at prices that galleries would probably not have dared to ask previously. Artists in this category are Ivan Sagito, Made Djirna, Dede Eri Supria, Sutjipto Adi, Nasirun, Pande Ketut Taman, Erica Hestu Wahyuni, Nyoman Masriadi and Ardison.

The auction had very much the character of a social event. Many friends met and as discretion is the rule, it is difficult to tell who is selling. Only buyers can be seen, as they must make it clear when they are making an offer to the auctioneer. One of the collectors selling through this auction was monologue and theater artist Butet Kartaredjasa. He enjoyed the event.

And, after all, any collector wanting to change his collection would like to return a work to the artist from whom he bought it initially. Or are there any galleries giving a buy-back guarantee if the collector changes his taste? Luckily, there are auctions, and this one was certainly another step in the right direction.

The writer is an avid art collector based in the Netherlands.