Auction of Indonesian paintings – 14th of December 2011

Here a quick preview (many lots more): Rudolf Bonnet, Auke Sonnega, Willem Gerard Hofker, Gerard Pieter Adolfs, and other Southeast Asian artists. More information and catalogue soon available.

Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1978), ‘Portrait of Ni Najas’, signed, Bali 1952, pastel, 85 x 68 cm. 

Estimate: € 60.000 – 80.000

Provenance of this pastel: the Dutch Mr. G.J. van Oene, director and owner of the technical trading company ‘Vraag en aanbod’. He married in 1953, this work was probably a wedding gift. 

In 1956 he returned to the Netherlands. 

In the collection of President Sukarno is also a portrait of Ni Najas. It stays the presidential working room of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. It is reproduced in the book ‘Paintings and Statues from the Collection of President Sukarno of the Republic of Indonesia’, part II, nr. 56:

Also in the collection of Sukarno is this crayon, which could be Ni Najas as well:

Source: ‘Paintings and Statues from the Collection of President Sukarno of the Republic of Indonesia’, 

part I, nr.63.

 In the upper right corner Bonnet wrote: ‘Fragment uit Caryatidi D’ Anticoli 1922, bijgewerkt in 1949′. The black and white photograph is from the book ‘Rudolf Bonnet, een zondagskind’, by Dr. H. de Roever-Bonnet, 1991, page 95. In this book (page 136) is explained why Bonnet cut the big original work in three pieces: the smaller parts were easier to sell at that time!

Here also a few Indonesian paintings we sold in the past: