Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Write It!
  • High Court move will devastate food security for thousands
  • St Andrew’s College welcomes Tom Hamilton as 20th Headmaster
  • Hosts Kingswood take fourth spot in highly competitive water polo tournament
  • Swallows want to “smile again”
  • The stage is set for a scintillating season of football
  • Understanding gender-based violence
  • An invitation to join the water protests
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Grocott's Mail
You are at:Home»Uncategorized»Delighting and dealing in art
Uncategorized

Delighting and dealing in art

Busisiwe HohoBy Busisiwe HohoJuly 26, 2010No Comments2 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

The antique road show came to Grahamstown last week where Strauss & Co directors Stephan Welz and Vanessa Phillips appraised the art and antiques of community members at the Observatory Museum. 
 

The antique road show came to Grahamstown last week where Strauss & Co directors Stephan Welz and Vanessa Phillips appraised the art and antiques of community members at the Observatory Museum. 
 

Grocott’s Mail had two pieces evaluated; Jeff Grocott’s antique display cabinet and Louise Vale’s chandeliers, which currently hang in the Grocott’s Mail building.

Welz likens what they do to being in a casino; you never know what you are going to find. Last year, an Eastern Cape local had a piece auctioned off for R2.3- million.

This was one of four large bronze sculptures entitled Bad News created by Anton van Wouw in 1907, which the seller’s father purchased from the artist.

“The antique road show provides a service to the community. Many people have no interest in selling but simply want to know what their belongings are worth,” says Welz.

From the 150 items appraised in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, only eight paintings were selected for auction. Community members must give a compulsory donation of R15 for each item that the appraisers evaluate.

This money is handed over to local museums for their much needed upkeep. Despite some 70 years combined experience between Welz and Phillips, she insists that she learns new things every day and modestly adds, “Most collectors know more, or as much, as we do.”

Phillips encourages pieces to be sold within the area they were created as it is historically correct to keep them in their original context. Welz, who has tried to retire, keeps being drawn back to his job.

“A very small percentage of people who get up in the morning are enthusiastic,” said Welz, “I’m one of those people.”

His credentials include an antique television show during the 80s and a stint as director of Sotheby’s auctioneers in London.

Two years ago Welz and two friends, former Standard bank chairman Dr Conrad Strauss and former Toyota SA manager Elisabeth Bradley, “crawled out of retirement” and began Strauss & Co.

The company is currently the largest fine art and antiques auctioning house in South Africa.

Previous ArticleECPL members attend Kentucky summit
Next Article Bail denied for accused in Vukani grandma rape case
Busisiwe Hoho

Comments are closed.

Tweets by Grocotts
Newsletter



Listen

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division has launched Engagement in Action, a new podcast which aims to bring to life some of the many ways in which the University interacts with communities around it. Check it out below.

Humans of Makhanda

Humans of Makhanda

Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

© 2023 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.