A series of unfortunate events

 

The rather protracted process of registering and getting approval to bid at Lempertz in Cologne ended in one of those unlucky conclusions. My bid was the same as the winner's in Saturday's auction for this lot, The Ruins at Taormina, a picture by Ferdinand Knab, but because that bidder was in the room, and mine was an absentee bid, his was accepted and my limit would have had to be higher for the bidding to continue. I think the price achieved is the right one, but obviously I am sad that my bid was not successful. As someone noted, "well, at least you're cash richer". It's not something that is providing huge comfort at the moment. 

 

Knab painted this in Italy in about 1870 during his tour of the country. Upon his return to Germany he became court painter to King Ludwig II, (the mad one). I especially liked the light and the perspective, but I wont wax lyrically anymore, lest I burst into tears. It's quite easy to understand why art in German is kunst.

 

In the same auction there were two other pictures of similar genre:

 

 

The Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, by Carl Jungheim

 

 

Villa Carlotta by Carl Hummel, 1874

 

which I liked, but not as much as the Knab. Villa Carlotta holds happy memories of a visit to a friend who lived in a palazzo on Lake Como. We went to the villa after a rather good lunch in Bellagio, so it was an amusing afternoon, with much sacrilegious mirth at the absurdity of a huge and rather silly picture on the first floor.

 

All images are from Lempertz.com

 

Watercolour

 

This rather pretty photograph series from the Bangkok Post depicts one of the Kingdom's more colourful ceremonies - the Royal Barge Procession on the Chao Phrya river, which passes in front of the Grand Palace, with its glittering spires, (above).

Look for the loot

 

Another one of those happy surprises. Providing of course the purchase is paid for.

And the point is

 

I have long promised myself that I will properly sort out the multitude of photographs that currently reside in shoe boxes. I have made some effort over the years, by remembering to write names, dates and places on the reverse of the snaps, and by and large these have been catalogued in the same year. (Clearly an archivist I am not.) The above is from the Forbidden City in Peking, which we visited in November 1991.

 

 

This is the Bohemian Club, where I stayed when I visited San Francisco for the first time. Sadly there was no date on the reverse of this batch, but I managed to cross reference from my diaries and it was in September 1981.

 

And finally the drive at Glamis Castle in Scotland in September 1986.

 

Part of the project included having properly bound navy blue photograph albums made with my initials in gold embossed on the front. Several of these were produced, but alas very few photographs were affixed. So for this task to be completed properly, they will have to be sorted sequentially. But in order for that to take place there needs to be a serious edit. I can become easily distracted from this, as you might imagine.

And how will sir be paying?

 

Like recent cases of Chinese not honouring their bids at auction, so too it would seem one of the members of the ruling Al-Thani family in Qatar is not paying for his purchases.

 

Like most businesses, the concept of trust is paramount. I don't suppose it explains why, but my recent registration at an auction house in Germany has resulted in a much more thorough and detailed requirement to be given approval to bid. Happily I started the process well ahead of the auction, otherwise I would have missed out.

 

Similar bureaucracy has affected a payment I was due to receive from an investment plan I have been paying into for about 25 years. It matured on 1 November, and I still await funds, perhaps delayed because I initially but immediately rectified an omission to provide them with a copy of my passport, and proof of my address, despite requiring them to repay the funds to the bank account from which they have been taking the premiums over these many years. There have been some choice words exchanged. Perhaps further will be required.