Asian Art

After a 17-minute bidding battle, a Chinese blue and white bottle vase with a Daoguang (1820-50) six-character seal mark was hammered down for £270,000 at Gorringe’s in Lewes, East Sussex.

A Japanese Meiji period shibayama inlaid lacquer shodana will feature in the Asian works of art section of Weschler’s Capital Collections auction on December 13 in Rockville, Maryland.

A Qianlong teapot which made £800,000 in Dorchester provided the stellar result among some exceptional Asian art lots offered for sale in the UK regions and Ireland last week.

During the late 18th century, schools of netsuke carving were established throughout Japan.

Duke’s latest Asian art sale had been headlined by items from a local resident and well-known auctioneer, academic and collector, Anthony du Boulay. The 249 lots from early classic wares to Cantonese enamels generated plenty of saleroom energy and a total of around £800,000.

Market-fresh examples of Qing imperial splendour dominated a week of auctions timed to coincide with this year’s Asian Art in London event.

Last week’s gala party for Asian Art in London, held at Bonhams on November 5, was also the occasion to announce the winners of the event’s two art awards.

A wealth of objects shelter under the great ‘Asian art’ umbrella – together representing five millennia of artistic endeavour across one quarter of the globe. Here we preview a series of Asian art objects available for sale at galleries and auctions over the next month, and each from a different moment in time or geography. From the cult of Monju to the beginning of a new Japanese imperial era – all tell a compelling tale.

Dismissed a generation ago as decorative export wares, Qing and later silver is today the focus of lively academic and commercial attention.

For 22 years Asian Art in London has promoted the wide range of specialist auctions, dealer exhibitions, symposia and lectures held in the capital and further afield across 10 autumnal days. Together they spotlight the UK as a repository and a centre of expertise for the finest Asian art.

A selection of UK and international auction highs and milestones from the past year.