A Sinotibetan bronze figure of Vajrabhairava. 19th century
A Sinotibetan bronze figure of Vajrabhairava, striding in alidhasana with his consort on prostrate figures over a lotus base, the main hands holding a karttrika and skull cup, the other hands outstretched, and the main face flanked and surmounted by additional faces and backed by the flaming hair. Base sealed. 19th century.
Height 8.7 cm
Private collection Johan (1925-2003) and Ursula Strebel
Johann Strebel was born in Hamburg in February 1925, the son of Dr. Otto Strebel, director of the Hemmoor cement factory. In 1951 the qualified cement retailer married Ursula Oschewski (b. 1.9.1925), daughter of the goldsmith Kurt Olschewski who ran a jewellery business under the same name in Wiesbaden. In 1954 the jewellery business in Wilhelmstrasse changed its name to Strebel-Olschewski.
By procuring precious stones for the jeweler's shop, Johann and Ulla Strebel developed a fascination for Asian cultures and acquired valuable works of art on their many travels throughout Asia between 1955 and 1980, a time when travel in these countries was particularly arduous and uncomfortable.
Asian works of art were sold alongside the jewellery in the shop, but the couple also built up a private collection, with a wide cultural interest ranging from Tibet through South East Asia to Japan.