ANTIQUE ARMS AND ARMOUR
Tuesday December 13, 2011 – 3.00 pm
THE KARSTEN KLINGBEIL COLLECTION
THOSE WHO HAVE MET KARSTEN KLINGBEIL WILL AGREE THAT HE CAN BE RATED AMONGST THE FOREMOST COLLECTOR PERSONALITIES OF OUR TIMES, ALWAYS PURSUING HIS INTERESTS WITH GREAT VIGOUR AND PASSION.
An artist at heart, he nonetheless felt compelled towards a business career which he forged in characteristic exemplary fashion, from newspaper-boy to prime contractor and millionaire.
While to him his business always remained a basic necessity, his real passion was found in his art and his collections. As a sculptor he was always fascinated by the strong sculptural impression of pieces of armour, and following the acquisition of his first antique helmet in the early 1950s, so began a lifetime of enthusiastic collecting. The Klingbeil Collection of arms and armour is today without doubt the largest collection remaining in private possession that may freely come to the market. For five decades Mr. Klingbeil sought out the most exquisite and rare objects, travelling all over the world and acting as a significant presence in the market, frequently as a major buyer at auction.
His personal collection of arms and armour, which now comprises more than 600 antique objects, was carefully selected to represent the evolution of human weaponry and body protection over the span of twelve centuries. Here you will find swords that were used in the Dark Ages and carried on the Crusades, weaponry from the Hundred Years’ War, the Burgundian wars, and armour and weapons from the Austro-Turkish wars of the 16 th and 17th centuries. Many objects have once been part of the armouries of European nobility as evidenced by their arms, their crests and by ancestral provenance.
While Mr. Klingbeil’s main focus has always been centred on arms and armour his widespread interest and vision also led him to other areas of collecting. Also in this auction, Mr Klingbeil has represented his outstanding collection of taxidermic crustaceans, ranging from small crabs commonly found in the North Sea to the monster-like “Sea Spider” with a span of almost two meters that dwells in the deep
sea near Japan.
Both collections share the theme of the evolution of protection: the carapace of crabs representing nature’s concept to ward off predators, mimicked by the man-made
head-to-toe armour worn for protection by Knights at tournaments and battle.
Being at the age of 86 today, Mr. Klingbeil has decided to make his collections available to collectors and museums worldwide, we join in his hope that others will now reap the benefit of half a century of enthusiasm and acumen.
Robert Weis