In memoriam | Rob Guldenaar
In memoriam
Rob Guldenaar
On the 1st of August, our former colleague Rob Guldenaar passed away at the age of 84.
Rob Guldenaar was active as a valuer and auctioneer at Venduehuis The Hague between 1962 and 2002. His area of expertise as a valuer was Indonesian and Asian Art. In this role, he visited museums in various European capitals and followed courses there. He had a fascination for Chinese porcelain in particular and was supported in his continuous studies on the subject by mr Tjian-Tek Gan, a senior scientific assistant affiliated with the ‘Volkenkundig Museum’ in Leiden. Based on his advice, Rob visited China in 1984, an extraordinary trip at that time.
Rob Guldenaar was a remarkable person, with the talent to quiet down a noisy auction room simply by putting down the gavel and silently looking around for a few minutes with his arms crossed, until the noise had died down.
In 1990, Rob initiated plans for, and was leading in the organisation of a charity auction for the benefit of UNICEF, where various Dutch politicians, designers and collectors were present.
For years after his retirement in 2002, customers at Venduehuis The Hague - especially those with Indonesian roots - would ask for ‘that nice mr Guldenaar’ when requesting a valuation at home.
Rob will be remembered as a friendly colleague with an unending passion for his work.