CURATED SELECTION
SIGNATURE PIECES
The most significant objects in the Huber Collection — selected for provenance, rarity, and cultural importance.
Each piece in this selection has been chosen for its exceptional quality, documented provenance, and art-historical significance. These objects represent the core of the Huber Collection and exemplify our curatorial standards.
Contemporary Art
Contemporary Art
Adriana Oliver — Tonight
Signed Edition Nr. 90/90 · Fine Art Print (framed) · Limited Edition
There is something deeply unsettling — and deeply magnetic — about this work. A figure, clear lines, a harmonious palette. Yet the decisive element is missing: the face. This absence is no accident; it is the central carrier of meaning. Identity is not shown — it is withdrawn. Adriana Oliver (*1990) works deliberately with this reduction. Her figures stand as representatives of a generation in which identity is increasingly defined through external images, roles, and projections. The individual becomes visible — and simultaneously interchangeable. Tonight addresses a moment that is inherently associated with presence, encounter, and expression. Yet precisely this expression is withheld. The figure remains self-contained, almost distant. A tension emerges between outward appearance and inner ambiguity. In this context, the work can also be read as a quiet counterpoint to an over-staged present. While so much strives for visibility, Oliver refuses clear attribution. The image does not demand attention — it demands self-reflection. The void in the face can be understood as an invitation: Who am I when external attributions fall away? What remains when roles, expectations, and images are stripped back? These questions touch not only the individual but also fundamental themes such as authenticity, self-development, and inner clarity. In engaging with such questions, a connection to deeper dimensions of human existence emerges. The conscious reflection on one's own self — detached from surface and performance — is central to many philosophical and cultural traditions. It forms the foundation for growth, responsibility, and orientation. Tonight is thus a quiet but precise work. It renounces drama and unfolds its effect through reduction. It is precisely this restraint that creates a lasting irritation — one that resonates far beyond the moment. As a work from a Swiss Private Collection, Tonight is presented by HUBER FINE ART.
Contemporary Art
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner — Zwei Köpfe (Galerie Aktuaryus)
Pen and ink drawing, 1927
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (Aschaffenburg 1880 – 1938 Davos) is one of the most significant representatives of German Expressionism and a founding member of the legendary artists' group Die Brücke. His radical formal language, his bold use of line and colour, and his uncompromising artistic vision shaped an entire epoch of European modernism. This pen and ink drawing, Zwei Köpfe, im Profil nach links (Two Heads, in Profile Facing Left), dated 1927, is a preparatory design for the coloured woodcut of the same title, which was printed on the cover of the catalogue for Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's graphic exhibition at the Galerie Aktuaryus in Zurich, held from 10 June to 12 July 1927. The drawing captures two heads in sharp left-facing profile — rendered with the rapid, assured strokes that are characteristic of Kirchner's mature draughtsmanship. There is an immediacy to the line that speaks of both spontaneity and mastery: each mark is deliberate yet free, distilling the essence of form without recourse to detail. The inscription 'Galerie Aktuaryus' at the top of the sheet anchors the work firmly within its historical context. The Galerie Aktuaryus, located at Bahnhofstrasse 62 in Zurich, was one of the most progressive galleries in Switzerland during the interwar period, exhibiting works by leading figures of the European avant-garde. This drawing is therefore not merely a study — it is a document of the cultural exchange between the Swiss art world and the German Expressionist movement at a pivotal moment in art history. A rare and historically significant work on paper, combining artistic excellence with impeccable provenance.
Contemporary Art
Heart Spin Painting
Damien Hirst, 2009
Damien Hirst (*1965) is arguably the most famous living artist in the world. As the enfant terrible of the Young British Artists (YBAs), he redefined contemporary art in the 1990s with works of breathtaking audacity — from the formaldehyde-preserved shark that became the icon of a generation to the diamond-encrusted skull 'For the Love of God', valued at fifty million pounds. His spin paintings, created by pouring paint onto a rapidly rotating canvas, are among his most joyful and immediately captivating works — pure celebrations of colour, chance, and centrifugal force. This heart-shaped spin painting is a unique work (1/1), created through the same process that has made Hirst's spin paintings some of the most sought-after works in contemporary art. No two are alike; each is the unrepeatable result of a single moment when gravity, velocity, and pigment conspire to create something that could never be planned or predicted. The heart shape adds a layer of emotional resonance — a universal symbol of love rendered through the language of abstract expressionism. The explosion of colour radiating from the centre outward creates a sense of energy and vitality that is almost physical. Reds, blues, greens, and yellows merge and separate in patterns that suggest both cosmic forces and the beating of a human heart. It is at once deeply personal and magnificently universal — a work that speaks to the fundamental human desire for beauty, love, and the transcendence of the ordinary.
Contemporary Art
Henri Matisse — "Une fleur"
Coloured Pencil on Paper, Revue Verve, Paris
Henri Matisse (1869–1954) is one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. As a leading figure of Fauvism and a lifelong revolutionary of colour and form, Matisse transformed the way the world sees art. From his radical colour experiments that scandalised the Paris Salon of 1905 to the sublime paper cut-outs of his final years, he pursued a single, unwavering vision: to create art that would be, in his own words, 'like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.' His influence extends from Picasso — who considered Matisse his only true rival — to every generation of artists that followed. This original coloured pencil drawing depicts a stylised flower in red and blue on the letterhead of the Éditions de la Revue Verve, 4 Rue Férou, Paris (VIe). The Revue Verve was one of the most important art publications of the twentieth century, founded by Tériade in 1937, and Matisse contributed some of his most celebrated graphic works to its pages. To draw directly on the journal's letterhead was an intimate, spontaneous gesture — the kind of private moment that reveals the artist at his most unguarded. The verso bears a handwritten dedication 'à Pierre Brune' signed 'H Matisse'. Pierre Brune (1887–1956) was a French painter and close associate of Matisse in the South of France — a friendship forged in the luminous light of the Mediterranean that shaped both their lives. This personal dedication transforms the drawing from a work of art into a document of human connection between two artists. Provenance labels from André Chenue (art transport, Paris), the auction house Dobiaschofsky (founded 1923, lot 126), and Sotheby's trace the work's journey from Brune's studio through some of Europe's most distinguished auction houses to its present home in a Swiss Private Collection.
Contemporary Art
Jean Tinguely — Mixed Media Collage
Unique Work (1/1), Gift to an FC Basel Player
Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) was one of the most radical and beloved artists of the twentieth century. Born in Fribourg and raised in Basel, he became a central figure of the European avant-garde whose kinetic sculptures — clattering, whirring, self-destructing machines built from scrap metal and industrial debris — challenged every convention of what art could be. His legendary 'Homage to New York' (1960), a self-destroying machine that spectacularly collapsed in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art, remains one of the most iconic moments in post-war art history. Together with his wife Niki de Saint Phalle, he created the Stravinsky Fountain beside the Centre Pompidou in Paris, a joyful explosion of water, colour, and movement that delights millions of visitors each year. Today, the Museum Tinguely in Basel, designed by Mario Botta, stands as a permanent monument to his genius. This unique mixed-media collage is a rare example of Tinguely's work on paper — a medium in which his restless creative energy finds perhaps its most intimate expression. Gouache, ink, paper cut-outs, and printed fragments swirl across the surface in a composition that captures the same anarchic joy as his monumental machine sculptures, but on a deeply personal scale. Typographic elements, fragments of roses, and bursts of turquoise and green create a visual symphony of controlled chaos. What makes this work extraordinary is its provenance: it was created as a personal gift for a player of FC Basel, the football club that was close to Tinguely's heart throughout his life. Basel was not merely where Tinguely grew up — it was the city that shaped his artistic identity, from his early encounters with Kurt Schwitters' Merz collages to his lifelong friendships in the Basel art world. This collage is therefore not just a work of art; it is a gesture of friendship, a piece of Basel's cultural soul.
Antiquities
Antiquities
Ancient Chinese Han / Six Dynasties Pottery Figure of a Persian Jewish Merchant
Six Dynasties Period, ca. 222–589 A.D.
A very rare and well provenanced ancient Chinese terracotta figure of a foreigner wearing a conical hat, dating to the Six Dynasties period, approximately 222–589 A.D. The tall figure with thick, double breasted coat, trousers and shoes. He holds his right hand to his chest and left hand to the side. His facial features are distinctly not Chinese, which marks him out as one of the rare ancient Chinese depictions of a foreigner. The large conical hat is perhaps meant to further identify him as a westerner, perhaps a Persian, Jew or Armenian. An exceptional piece. From the renowned collection of Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Schloss — one of the most famous names in ancient Chinese ming-chi (terracotta figure) art. Together with his wife Lillian, Schloss was a prolific collector, well respected authority and author of the major publication "Ancient Chinese ceramic sculpture from Han through T'ang". The Schloss collection is rare in that it truly represents an educated collection of art; Schloss was immersed in Chinese ming-chi art and only collected beautiful examples of specific types, as well as the unusual, the charming and the rare.
Antiquities
Artukid Magical Lead Talisman
Anatolia, 13th Century AD
This lead talisman from the Artukid dynasty carries the weight of medieval Islamic mysticism — a world where the boundaries between the visible and invisible were thin, where words had power, and where a small disc of inscribed metal could serve as a shield against the terrors of the unknown. The Artukids ruled parts of eastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia during the 12th and 13th centuries, a period of extraordinary cultural flowering in the Islamic world. Their courts were centres of learning where astronomers, physicians, and mystics worked side by side. Talismans like this one were not mere superstition; they were sophisticated objects that drew on traditions of Quranic calligraphy, numerology, and astral magic that stretched back to the ancient civilisations of Babylon and Egypt. The inscriptions on this talisman — carefully incised into the soft lead — would have been believed to invoke divine protection against illness, misfortune, or the evil eye. Someone carried this small object close to their body, trusting in its power to keep them safe in a world full of dangers both seen and unseen. It is a profoundly human object — a tangible expression of the universal need for protection, comfort, and hope.
Antiquities
Corinthian Lekythos
Greek, 7th–6th Century BC
This elegant vessel once held precious perfumed oil — a luxury in the ancient world that was intimately connected with the most significant moments of human life. Lekythoi accompanied the living to the gymnasium and the bath, anointed the bodies of brides on their wedding day, and — most poignantly — were placed in the graves of the beloved dead as a final gift of tenderness. Corinth, where this vessel was crafted, was one of the great centres of Greek ceramic art. Corinthian potters developed a distinctive style of miniature painting — intricate animal friezes, mythological scenes, and geometric patterns rendered with extraordinary precision on the curved surfaces of their vessels. Each lekythos was a small masterpiece of design and craftsmanship, shaped on the potter's wheel and painted with pigments derived from iron-rich clay. The survival of this vessel across nearly three millennia is a testament to both the skill of its maker and the reverence with which it was treated. Somewhere in the ancient world, someone placed this lekythos beside a body they loved, believing that the fragrant oil within would ease the passage of the soul. That act of love has preserved this object through the rise and fall of empires, through centuries of silence in the earth, to reach us here — still beautiful, still eloquent, still speaking of the human need to honour the dead.
Antiquities
Faience Ushabti of Priest Hor Udja
Egyptian, Late Period (600–300 BC)
This faience ushabti bears the name of the priest Hor Udja — a real person who lived, breathed, and served in the temples of ancient Egypt during the Late Period (664–332 BC). To hold this figure is to hold the last physical trace of a human life that ended over two and a half thousand years ago. Ushabtis were among the most personal objects placed in an Egyptian tomb. The word itself derives from the Egyptian verb 'wshb' — to answer. These small figures were magical servants, inscribed with Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, who would 'answer' when the gods of the underworld called upon the deceased to perform manual labour in the Field of Reeds. A wealthy Egyptian might be buried with 365 ushabtis — one for each day of the year — plus 36 overseers, ensuring that their eternal rest would never be disturbed by the demands of the afterlife. The vivid turquoise glaze that still shimmers on this figure was the most prized colour in ancient Egypt — the colour of the sky goddess Hathor, of regeneration, of the promise that death was merely a passage to something greater. That this glaze has survived intact for over two millennia is itself a small miracle, a testament to the extraordinary skill of the craftsmen who created it and to the dry, protective darkness of the tomb that sheltered it.
Antiquities
Roman Oil Lamp – Zeus Mythology
Terracotta, Roman Empire, 1st–3rd Century AD
In the flickering light of this small bronze lamp, the ancient world comes alive. The image of Zeus — king of the gods, lord of thunder, ruler of Olympus — gazes from the discus with the authority of a deity who commanded the prayers of millions across the vast expanse of the Roman Empire. Oil lamps were the most intimate objects of daily life in antiquity. They illuminated the dinner table where families gathered, the study where philosophers composed their treatises, the bedroom where lovers whispered, the temple where priests performed their sacred rites. This lamp, with its mythological decoration, would have cast its warm glow in a household where the old gods were still real — where Zeus was not a character in a storybook but a living presence who could send thunderbolts crashing from the sky. To hold this lamp is to touch the same surface that was touched by Roman hands two thousand years ago — hands that filled it with olive oil, trimmed its wick, and carried it through darkened corridors. The patina of centuries has given it a depth and warmth that no modern reproduction could ever achieve. It is a small thing, this lamp, but it carries within it the entire weight of a vanished civilisation.
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Antiquities
Royal Silver-Plated Serving Tray
Egyptian Royal Household, 19th–20th Century
A silent witness to royal history. This silver-plated serving tray originates from the household of the Egyptian royal family and was once in the personal possession of King Faruq I — the penultimate King of Egypt, whose reign ended with the revolution of 1952. When Faruq fled into exile, this tray accompanied him on his journey to Geneva, where it remained as a tangible relic of a fallen dynasty. The craftsmanship is unmistakable: the finely beaded rim, the elegantly proportioned handles, and the heraldic coat of arms engraved at the centre all speak of a commission intended not merely for daily use but for ceremonial occasions at the highest level of society. This was a tray that bore crystal and porcelain in the gilded salons of Abdeen Palace, that was carried by gloved hands through rooms where the fate of a nation was discussed over tea and diplomacy. For nearly four decades after Faruq’s exile, the tray remained in the possession of a Swiss family in Bern — a quiet custodian of an extraordinary provenance. It has now been acquired by a Private Collection in Switzerland, where it takes its place among objects that embody the intersection of art, history, and power. The patina on its surface is not wear — it is memory. Every shadow, every subtle darkening of the silver plate records the passage of time and the weight of the occasions it has witnessed. To stand before this tray is to feel the presence of a vanished world: the elegance of a royal court, the drama of exile, and the quiet dignity of an object that has outlived the empire it once served.
Antiquities
Thor's Thunderbolt — Viking Amulet
Scandinavian, Viking Age (ca. 8th–10th Century AD)
In the frozen forests of Scandinavia, where winter darkness lasted months and the sea could swallow a longship without warning, the Vikings placed their faith in gods who were as fierce and unpredictable as the world they inhabited. Thor — the red-bearded god of thunder, protector of mankind, eternal enemy of the giants — was the most beloved of all the Norse deities. His hammer, Mjölnir, was the most powerful weapon in the cosmos, capable of levelling mountains and calling down lightning from the sky. This amulet — a miniature representation of Thor's thunderbolt — was worn close to the body as a source of divine protection. Viking men, women, and children wore such pendants as talismans against the dangers of a world where death could come at any moment — from storm, from battle, from illness, from the dark creatures that lurked at the edges of the known world. The survival of this small object is remarkable. It has endured for over a thousand years — through the Christianisation of Scandinavia, through the centuries when the old gods were forgotten, through the rediscovery of Norse mythology in the Romantic era. It is a direct, physical connection to a world of longships and mead halls, of sagas and runes, of a people who faced the harshness of existence with extraordinary courage and creativity.
Natural History
Natural History
Dendroolithus Hadrosaur Dinosaur Egg
Cretaceous, Kaoguo Formation, Henan Province, China
A guaranteed real fossilized dinosaur egg from a Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur), recovered from the Kaoguo Formation in the Xixia Basin, Henan Province, China. Microscopically prepared with an air-abrasive machine by the EXTINCTIONS Preparation Lab. The colorful eggshell is wonderfully preserved, covering nearly the entire surface. Very inflated and displays beautifully on its natural pedestal of matrix. One of the most collectible and displayable Hadrosaur eggs available. Certified by EXTINCTIONS.com, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.
Natural History
Mosasaurus — 'Dinosaur Hand'
Late Cretaceous (ca. 100–66 million years), Morocco
From a Swiss Private Collection. After an extensive restoration, this exceptionally preserved, fully articulated flipper section of a Mosasaurus from the Late Cretaceous period (ca. 100–66 million years ago) is now presented in its full grandeur. Measuring approximately 60 cm, the specimen reveals the complete structure of the 'hand' of this apex marine predator, with clearly discernible metacarpals and phalanges. The fossil originates from the renowned phosphate deposits of Khouribga, Morocco — one of the world's most significant palaeontological sites for marine reptile remains. Specimens of this completeness and quality are exceedingly rare. This fossil unites scientific significance with a striking aesthetic presence — a convergence that elevates it beyond mere natural history into the realm of sculptural beauty. A museum-grade object. Restored by Piffaretti Manufaktur.
Natural History
Tyrannosaurus Rex Premax Tooth
Late Cretaceous, Hell Creek Formation, Montana
Sixty-eight million years ago, this tooth was the instrument of nature's most fearsome predator — the Tyrannosaurus Rex. This fossilised premaxillary tooth once belonged to a creature that ruled the late Cretaceous world with unmatched power. Every serration along its edge was designed for a single purpose: to tear through flesh and bone. Holding this specimen is to hold a fragment of deep time itself — a relic from an era when giants walked the earth and the very landscape trembled beneath their stride. This is not merely a fossil; it is a direct, tangible connection to the most iconic predator in the history of life on Earth. Certified by Jako's Fossil Emporium (jakosfossils.com). Recovered from the Hell Creek Formation, Powder River County, Montana, United States — one of the most celebrated fossil-bearing geological formations in the world, renowned for yielding exceptional Late Cretaceous specimens.
Religious Art
Religious Art
Orthodox Crucifix
Russian, ca. 1800
Timeless Mystery Long ago, in the heart of the Russian Empire, when the bells of Orthodox churches echoed across the vast steppes, master craftsmen created an extraordinary artifact — a cross that embodied the faith and hope of an entire nation. Crafted around the year 1800, this cross emerged from the workshops of the Orthodox Church, where art and spirituality merged into a higher form. The origins of the cross point to the golden age of Russian craftsmanship, a time when religious objects were created not merely as keepsakes but as living manifestations of faith. The master artisans of that era left no doubt about their mission: to immortalise the soul of Russia through their art. The champlevé enamel — vivid blue and white, the colours of heaven — fills the recesses of the cast bronze with a luminosity that seems to glow from within. Christ is depicted crucified, with God the Father enthroned above and angels flanking the cross. The Cyrillic inscriptions on both front and reverse follow the precise iconographic programme prescribed by centuries of Orthodox tradition — every letter, every image, every proportion determined by sacred canon. The reverse bears an ancient prayer inscribed in Old Church Slavonic, a testament to the devotional purpose for which this cross was created. It was never intended as mere decoration — it was a bridge between the mortal world and the divine realm. This cross, laden with symbolism and perfected through masterful technique, is not just an artifact but a bridge between the mortal world and the divine realm — a witness to times past and, at the same time, a timeless mystery that speaks of faith, art, and history in every fibre. Certified by Antiquitäten Lothar Heubel, Cologne. Provenance: Private Collection, Switzerland.
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