Ed's letter | Selling the drama
Hi. My name is Sarah and I am an online-auction addict.
It all started during lockdown. One minute I was browsing through a Strauss & Co auction catalogue, the next I’d registered to bid and found myself picking out a new frame for the painting I’d bought.
That, it turns out, was only the beginning. Now, I spend weekends with the Russell Kaplan auction on my computer screen. Bidding wars, a background to whatever I’m doing during the day. A friend and I assemble in our WhatsApp war room, strategising over watched bids. Do I think the Skotnes overpriced? Can he believe that there’s another Kentridge on sale? Is he sure he’s got space for that Persian? Am I worried someone is going to scoop me on the Sydney Carter? (They didn’t, dear reader).
It is, to use the terrible over-used parlance of a shabby year, my “new normal”. I have “pivoted” from mostly functional to lot-dependent. And, with some self-reflection, I know why. Partly, it’s the thrill of the chase. Partly, it’s due to ease. I’m not one for rocking up to live sales, but this pastime — especially on Strauss — is effortless and intuitive, plus I can do it in my leggings and no one will go blind. Primarily, of course, this new “hobby” has given me access to a world of provenance and beauty. I can’t afford the Makamos but I love looking at them. I’d never heard of John Henry Amshewitz but, after spotting his work in the sales, I now know he was a local Impressionist painter, born in 1882 — and I like his work.
LOOK | Page through the digital copy of Wanted's October issue (enlarge for easy viewing):
October Issue 2020
FREE TO READ | On beauty: This October, Wanted pays homage to beauty in its many forms
From beauty treatments to timeless architecture, our latest issue is filled with loveliness to bring you joy this month
Image: Sarah de Pina
Ed's letter | Selling the drama
Hi. My name is Sarah and I am an online-auction addict.
It all started during lockdown. One minute I was browsing through a Strauss & Co auction catalogue, the next I’d registered to bid and found myself picking out a new frame for the painting I’d bought.
That, it turns out, was only the beginning. Now, I spend weekends with the Russell Kaplan auction on my computer screen. Bidding wars, a background to whatever I’m doing during the day. A friend and I assemble in our WhatsApp war room, strategising over watched bids. Do I think the Skotnes overpriced? Can he believe that there’s another Kentridge on sale? Is he sure he’s got space for that Persian? Am I worried someone is going to scoop me on the Sydney Carter? (They didn’t, dear reader).
It is, to use the terrible over-used parlance of a shabby year, my “new normal”. I have “pivoted” from mostly functional to lot-dependent. And, with some self-reflection, I know why. Partly, it’s the thrill of the chase. Partly, it’s due to ease. I’m not one for rocking up to live sales, but this pastime — especially on Strauss — is effortless and intuitive, plus I can do it in my leggings and no one will go blind. Primarily, of course, this new “hobby” has given me access to a world of provenance and beauty. I can’t afford the Makamos but I love looking at them. I’d never heard of John Henry Amshewitz but, after spotting his work in the sales, I now know he was a local Impressionist painter, born in 1882 — and I like his work.
LOOK | Page through the digital copy of Wanted's October issue (enlarge for easy viewing):
Therein lies a fascinating element of auctions in all iterations. They are the proof that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I watched a cyber battle for a brown Chobi rug. It went for almost R100k. I was dumbstruck — it was absolutely heinous. Equally, though, I’m sure many would side-eye the bits and bobs I had earmarked for would-be purchase too.
This pseudo-philosophical observation segues rather well into this month’s issue. Flip through it and you will see that it is, by and large, an homage to beauty in its many — potentially debatable — forms. You may not agree that the South African Reserve Bank building in Pretoria is good-looking or that eyes dripping in glossy shimmer (page 17) tick your “attractive” box. Perhaps you’ll even be appalled that Tretchikoff oils and Birkenstock shoes crack a mention as aesthetically pleasing in Graham Wood’s piece on the overlapping worlds of ugliness and beauty (page 28). I’d love to hear your thoughts (@sarahbuiten on Instagram).
Whichever way you see it, may your month ahead be filled with loveliness, however it manifests; in friends, family, your home, nature, travel, good food. And yes, even brown Chobi carpets.
• Remember, you can subscribe to the Business Day newspaper to receive your gorgeous, glossy physical copy in the mail.
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