Objects from the private collection Dr. Eduard Hess, Oberwil near Basel 1921 – 2009, Part II When you talk to old companions of Eduard Hess you will be met with a smile when they remember stories about his life. Beat Borer, Toni Dähler and Werner Zintl recalled short anecdotes about their humorous collector friend in March 2012 on occasion of the auctioning of the first part of his collection (see Tribal Art Auction catalogue number 68 in Wurzburg). There are some exciting finds to be made in his documents. He recalls that when acquiring a Mumuye figure (lot 118) that he found on one of his Africa trips in 1970 that »The seller wanted DM 500. When I told him that I was flying back soon and only had DM 50 he said “donne moi les DM 50” then gave me the figure and disappeared«. And to a richly carved gourd from the Dogon he remembers »…a boy carried it like a water bottle around his neck, I bought it from him – including the water«. At this point we shouldn’t forget the collectors story about the small Pende mask (lot 136). Eduard Hess added »acquired in 1967 at Duperrier in Paris, exchanged with Hans Hess, then in 1973 I bought it back!« Was it exchange regret? Whatever, three years later he was able to say it was his again. By the way, he didn’t mention the price. This little mask belongs to around 35 objects in the second part of the sale of his African art, this time with the focus on the DR Congo. A kneeling female bowl carrier from the Luba (lot 133) can be categorised as stylistically being from the Shankadi from a workshop between Lake Kisale and the region around Mulumbu Mwanza in Katanga province. Eduard Hess acquired it in 1969 from the Swiss collector Edwin Hubacher from Olten.
The Dogon figure (lot 115) cannot be dated with absolute certainty but it is probably from around 1900 or earlier. Without a doubt though, the 45 cm figure captivates with its thick, crusty red sacrificial patina and intensive ritual use. From René Rasmussen (1952), who played a central role in the Paris tribal art scene for over 40 years, and then Hans Hess (1959) the figure eventually landed in the collection of Eduard Hess in 1968. Eduard Hess also made friendly exchanges with Antonio Fiacco who gave him a Yoruba pipe bowl for his 80th birthday (objects from the Fiacco collection are offered in the following lots 148 to 212). Fiacco, born in Italy but at home in Zurich, acquired two female Zela/Songye (DR Congo) masks from him that the local people called ‚La belle Madelaine‘. In an essay form 2003 Marc L. Felix wrote in a chapter ‚Cherchez la femme‘ about the masks that they were a new idealised portrait of women (more about this in (lots 192, 193).
The Nkunda society initiation mask is accredited to the Kuma and provided with an expertise (lot 131). One of the earliest examples of these masks is dated around 1920. Eduard Hess bought it in 1990 from Alain de Monbrison in Paris. – 85 –