1 / 10
Photo 1/10 du lotPhoto 2/10 du lotPhoto 3/10 du lotPhoto 4/10 du lotPhoto 5/10 du lotPhoto 6/10 du lotPhoto 7/10 du lotPhoto 8/10 du lotPhoto 9/10 du lotPhoto 10/10 du lot
Premium Hôtel des Ventes de Troyes

79 - Clément Serneels (1912-1991) Tshokwe Woman, 1936 Oil on canv…
See original version (French)

Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Sale commission
Description
Clément Serneels (1912-1991) Tshokwe Woman, 1936 Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right. Size: 108 × 87 cm. Provenance: Former collection of Edmond Verfaillie (1892-1962), a prominent figure associated with the major Belgian companies operating in the Belgian Congo under Belgian state administration, notably Forminière and Union Minière. Kept by family descendants. This early provenance is part of a particularly coherent and well-documented collection. A major figure in Belgian Africanist painting, from the 1930s onwards Clément Serneels developed a body of work deeply inspired by the peoples of Central Africa. Produced in 1936, this remarkable composition depicts a young Chokwe woman seated beside a traditional mortar, in an attitude imbued with calm and dignity. With its vast dimensions (108 × 87 cm), this painting is one of the most ambitious works devoted by the artist to the Chokwe world. Paintings of this size are particularly rare in his output. The mastery of modelling, the subtlety of the warm tones and the attention paid to cultural details give the whole a striking presence. The interest of this work is heightened by its provenance. It belongs to the same group as several Chokwe masterpieces presented in this sale, including an exceptional prestige caryatid stool and several major sculptures. The preservation of such a corpus is extremely rare today, as the great historical collections have been largely dispersed over time. More than a simple ethnographic representation, Femme Tshokwe is a precious testimony to Serneels' vision of one of Central Africa's most refined artistic traditions. By virtue of its quality, its exceptional format and its direct dialogue with the Chokwe works brought together in this sale, this painting stands out as one of the most important discoveries of the artist's work to have reappeared on the market in recent years.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale ARTS OF AFRICA & OCEANIA: Three exceptional family collections
Auction location
Auction time 06/22/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like