Ethnoflorence blog

BLOGS AND WEBS

Address: http://ethnoflorence.skynetblogs.be/

Name: ETHNOFLORENCE

Theme: Indian and Himalayan folk tribal arts

Date: Since October 2010

Chez Pascal: A Frenchman's Home is his Gallery

COLLECTORS - PASCAL BUTEL, Asian Art

From Time.com article by John Krich, 24 March 2011

Chez Pascal: A Frenchman's Home is his Gallery

"As implausible as it sounds, one of Bangkok's most stunning private collections of antiques is located on a cul-de-sac approachable through the city's most notorious stretch of girlie bars. And this establishment comes with the most personal of services: a guided tour from Pascal Butel, a transplanted Frenchman who is one of Asia's least known yet most devoted collectors.

He was practically born to the life. When he was 7, his grandmother in Nice chose to bestow on him, from her brassiere, the keys to trunks of treasures foraged from Indochina by her father. As a young man on a whimsical urge, Butel made Thai his college major in Paris and afterward headed east.

These days, he lives in a house full of exceptional finds. While his bedroom is off-limits, the rest of the place is packed with astounding objects: a Himalayan shaman's pouch made from a bear paw, a rare Isfahan carpet, intricately carved Nepalese looms, striking totems from Nagaland, Javanese chests. Butel waxes poetic about each object, discussing its provenance and uses daily or divine. The trove, apparently, is a fraction of Butel's main collection, kept in France.

More than merely collecting, Butel sees himself as helping preserve traditional "communities of interest and belief" and celebrating a time when "the hand that shaped was directly connected to the heart." Despite being able to lecture like a professor about all he's gathered, he also knows his own limitations. "Just as a grandmother never tells you everything about her life," he says, "the best part of these objects is their mystery."

Casual tourists are not welcome, but Butel will open his doors to those who genuinely share his passion. For an appointment call (66) 8094 40208." 
You can email him as well at pbsthai@hotmail.com.

Pascal Butel's tribal and traditional arts of Asia are only a portion of his collections, which also focus on antique objects, furniture and high end statuary. 

Tribal Art Auction at Zemanek-Münster

Auction: 65th Tribal art auction

Date: 28 May 2011

Preview: 21 to 27 May, 10 to 20h, and 28th May, 9 to 13:30h

Place: Auctionhouse Zemanek-Münster, Hörleingasse 3-5, Würzburg, (Germany)

Contact:  info@tribal-art-auktion.de

Webpage:  www.tribal-art-auktion.de

Catalogue: http://www.tribal-art-auktion.de/downloads/catalogue173.pdf

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65th Tribal art auction

About Zemanek-Münster:

The Zemanek-Münster art auction house in Würzburg has been involved with African art since the beginning of the nineties and it has become Europe's only auction house that specializes exclusively in non-European art.

The company started in 1978 as a small and distinguished antique shop for European art in Würzburg. Its first art auction was held seven years later, initially in rented rooms. In addition to their premises in Würzburg, Zemanek-Münster had been running art auctions for many years in Miltenberg (Frankfurt am Main) and following the reunification of Germany in 1989 in Dresden, the provincial capital of Saxony. In 1992 Zemanek-Münster moved into their premises in the Hörleingasse, Würzburg, an old blacksmith's shop in former times. In the summer of 2007 the auction house was renovated to provide more exhibition space and a new glass roof also considerably improved presentation.

In 1990 Zemanek-Münster was already reacting to emerging changes on the arts market. In 1991 the company started to specialise in non-European art with the separation of the Africa collection belonging to the late artist and great collector Joachim Schlotterbeck, who died in 2007.

The family run company today has eight full-time employees, who are art historians and ethnologists for European art and non-European art. The extended team also includes photographers, layouters and other enthusiastic employees. Their professional qualifications, academic application and the dedication with which auction catalogues are compiled have gained them a high degree of customer trust. The company is now widely regarded for its integrity, reliability and fairness in dealings with bidders and consignors all over the world.

These constant high standards have led to the success of this small, family-run company at an international level. In addition, amicable relationships with both customers and employees and a warm and welcoming atmosphere all form part of the Zemanek-Münster company philosophy and have proved a decisive factor in the success of the art auction house. The future is also in safe hands: David Zemanek, the older son, who grew up surrounded by art and is a qualified art-ethnologist himself, will take over in the future.