On December 30, Artcurial coordinated its fifth edition of Un Hiver Marocain which totaled nearly €5.15 million, including 2 world records.
The three sections, Majorelle and his contemporaries, Modern and Contemporary Art, and Contemporary African Art, met with a steady stream of interest in each of the works on offer.
After a four-day exhibition of “Un Hiver Marocain” at Galerie Venise Cadre in Casablanca in mid-December,, followed by four other conventional days at La Mamounia, Artcurial’s partner, art lovers from all over the world reacted and showed an extraordinary enthusiasm. The sales were popular at La Mamounia as well as in Paris, supported by the Live Auction on the Artcurial website with more than 120 clients and 30 different nationalities registered and more than 160 bidders by phone.
La légende merveilleuse de la reine de Saba et du roi Salomon, circa 1901
Huile sur toile, Triptyque
Majorelle and his Contemporaries
This section recorded two world records: « Le souk au tapis à Marrakech » by Marcelle Ackein for €198,000 including fees, and « La légende merveilleuse de la reine de Saba et du roi Salomon » by Georges Antoine Rochegrosse for €191,000 including fees.
Other good deals were achieved at this auction, such as those by Etienne Dinet, « Fillettes dansant » for € 340,000 including fees, « Le conscrit » which went for € 221,900 including fees, or those by Jacques Majorelle with « Ouarzazate » for € 210,000 including fees, and « Couvertures noires » for € 136,100 including fees. « Rahmouna », an oil on canvas by Alexandre Roubtzo sold for €82,700 including fees.
The Majorelle and his Contemporaries section of the “Un Hiver Marocain” exhibition thus recorded €2.5m including costs!
Fillettes dansant
1911, Huile sur toile
Modern and Contemporary Art
2.7 M € were recorded for this section!
The selection of works by artists who have marked the twentieth century in Morocco and around the world has seduced the public and collectors from around the world.
« La Mariée » by Chaïbia Talal was sold for € 69,000 including fees. « Chapeauté de Frais Rouge et Bleuet » by Robert Combas for 89 000 € including charges. « Composition, 1970 » by Mohamed Melehi sold for €123,000 including charges. Marc Chagall‘s passion for color was honored with « Les amoureux au carré vert », sold for €142,700 including fees.
Contemporary African Art
During the sale, a number of modern and contemporary artworks by African and diaspora artists were offered.
Some fine results were achieved, notably the work of Pili Pili, a significant artist of the Hangar School, created in the 1940s by Pierre Romain Desfossés in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, which sold for €16,000, including fees.
Barthélémy Toguo‘s enormous watercolor « What’s your name » sold for €23,600 including fees and a wonderful mixed media work by Aboudia sold for €118,000 including fees, which pays homage to the world’s offspring in a « Nouchi » style from the Ivory Coast.
« For this sale, most of the contemporary African artworks found buyers. Several pieces were the subject of fights between bidders on the phone, on the web and with the audience of collectors in the room at the Mamounia. The market for contemporary African art is consolidating and has adherents in both Africa and the West », said Christophe Person, Director of Contemporary African Art at Artcurial.