From the estate of J.W.N. van Achterbergh
J.W.N. van Achterbergh was the well-known and passionate collector, patron and connoisseur of contemporary ceramics from the 1960s.
Some of the furnishings from his country house are offered in this auction. In addition to paintings and ceramics, this also includes Empire furniture from his family estate.
In 1963, Jacob van Achterbergh housed part of his modern ceramics collection in a small private museum with the appropriate name De Pottenkijker, Museum of Ceramics. In 1969 this name was linked to an exhibition in the Boymans van Beuningen museum. The catalogue of this exhibition with the title ‘1959 Pottenkijker 1969, Ceramic highlights of the Netherlands’ was written by him himself. His collection of modern Dutch ceramics already consisted of more than 400 pieces, made by artists known to the collector. Van Achterbergh encouraged the then (mostly) young ceramists and made an enormous contribution to the fame of contemporary ceramics.
A large part of Van Achterbergh’s collection of modern ceramics has already been offered for auction in recent decades. This auction features a final part of the ceramics collection, which will now find its way through auction to the next generation of enthusiasts and collectors. Including the ‘gin table’ by Piet Wiegman, (lot number 2553), the counterpart of which is present in the Alkmaars Museum. Pictured in ‘1959 Pottenkijker 1969’ pages 200-201. Both tables were originally intended for the restaurant of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Also worth mentioning are two large ceramic pieces by Nicolaas van Os (born 1950), lot numbers 2557 and 2558, and a ceramic vase by Seung-Ho Yang (born 1955), lot number 2555.
In addition to works by Berserik and Sam Middleton, among others, a portrait of J.W.N. van Achterbergh by Herman Gordijn is also included (lot number 6968). This was one of the first portraits that Herman Gordijn made, after which Herman Gordijn, on the advice of Jacob van Achterbergh, started focusing on portraiture.
With the exception of some Empire furniture, including lot number 8600, from the country house in the Vacheron & Constantin 14 kt. gold remontoir watch, which was still the property of Jacob van Achterbergh’s father, is also offered in this auction under lot number 508.
All lot numbers from this estate can be found under the entry: Provenance: Collection JWN van Achterbergh
Literatuur:
Marcel Brouwer / Marius van Dam -J.W.N. van Achterbergh Een gedreven verzamelaar- Stichting van Achterberg-Domhof 2011.