Koller View 4/20

15 Stories behind private collections can fill volumes. A collector’s enthusiasm, curiosity and in-depth knowl- edge frequently develop over decades into an impres- sive level of expertise. The often pejoratively used term ’dilettante’ can only be taken as a compliment in this context. A fine example of this is the exten- sive collection of modern Chinese ink painting to be offered by Koller on 3 December, amassed by a Ger- man collector who was self-taught in field of art his- tory. Born in Berlin in 1929, he graduated with a PhD in Slavic studies; later he also studied archaeology and Preview of the Asian Art Auction on 3 December 2020 A passion for Chinese painting ancient history. This wide-ranging interest led him to the Berlin Archaeological Authority, where he worked in a management position for many years and organ- ised exhibitions. Fascinated by China’s ancient culture and modern awakening, the collector began to teach himself the Chinese language in the 1950s. In 1979, he travelled to China for the first time with a historical-archaeologi- cal delegation from the Max Planck Institute. There he acquired his first ink painting, whichmarked the begin- ning of a long-term interest in Chinese painting and calligraphy. With a gift for languages and a passion for learning, he deciphered inscriptions and delved into the complexities of seal script. For his growing collec- tion he had his own collector’s seal cut. He acquired many modern artworks in China, some of them from the artists themselves, and also acquired examples in Germany and the USA. He extensively annotated his collection with transcriptions of the in- scriptions and readings of the seals, exchanging ideas with experts in Taiwan. For many years until his death in 2005, he used the same well-worn Russian-Chinese dictionary for his research. Selected objects from this extraordinary collection were exhibited for a time at the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst in Berlin. In addition to this collection of paintings, the Asian Art auction on 3 December also features an inter- esting group of Buddhist ritual figures that a Ger- man mountaineer brought back from Nepal between 1967 and 1972, including a beautiful Tibetan initia- tion Dakini from the 16 th century (ill. 1). The top lot among the Buddhist figures is an excellent and ex- tremely rare Green Tara from the 13 th /14 th century, which exemplifies the Nepalese influence in the work- shops of the Mongolian imperial court. The Japanese art section includes a noteworthy selection of antique andmodern ceramics, as well as a select group of Inrō, illustrating the masterful skills of 19 th -century lacquer artists. 2 3 4 5 6