Huge sales at live auction

INSPIRATION: WORKS BY RENOWNED ARTIST-POTTER HYLTON NEL STIMULATE INTEREST

- Citizen reporter

Interest in the work of Hylton Nel, the renowned artist-potter whose work inspired the Dior Men's summer 2025 campaign, saw two cat sculptures smash their presale estimates at a Strauss & Co auction in Joburg.

Presented in Contemporary South African Ceramics: New Perspectives, a live-virtual auction celebrating new perspectives in ceramic art held on 22 July, the top-selling lot for the auction was Nel's painted ceramic sculpture Cat in green and brown (1993), sold for R117 250.

"Another big surprise were Nel's three decorated plates, which fetched four times their estimate," said Wilhelm van Rensburg, head of sale at Strauss & Co.