Asian Art

The two-part Asian Art in London begins with Indian and Islamic art auctions and dealer exhibitions this month.

A selection of stand-out Islamic & Indian auction results.

Galleries and Auction houses at this year's 'Asian Art in London' will each have their own requirements for social distancing and all will have hand sanitisers available.

A wealth of Indian and Islamic art and artefacts are available to view and buy in late October from both participants at Asian Art in London and auction houses whose sales are timed to coincide with the festival.

The awards shortlist for Asian Art in London’s inaugural Indian and Islamic week have been announced. The Antiques Trade Gazette Award for Outstanding Indian or Islamic Work of Art from an Auction House and the Apollo Award for Outstanding Indian or Islamic Work of Art from a Dealer each have three finalists. Winners will be announced on October 29.

A focus on Indian and Islamic art available to view and buy from dealers taking part in Asian Art in London in late October.

Further pieces from English porcelain specialist’s collection are among highlights in Lewes.

The highlight of last week’s Asian art series in New York was this remarkable 14in (35cm) high Warring States period (475-221BC) bronze sacrificial wine vessel or 'fang hu'.

This 9in (23cm) Qing blue and white porcelain bowl decorated in underglaze blue with squirrels in fruiting bears a Qianlong (1736-95) six-character seal mark and is probably of the period.

The highlight of an Asian art auction held at Drouot by Auction Art on September 25 is this 21½in (55cm) high Qianlong lantern-shaped vase famille rose vase and stand.

Estimated at Zar20,000-30,000, this 11in (28cm) ‘crane and deer’ famille rose pear-shaped vase sold for Zar2m (£91,800) at Stephan Welz (14% plus VAT buyer’s premium) in Cape Town.

On September 30 Veritas in Lisbon is selling Asian works of art from a single-owner private Portuguese collection formed over the past 35 years in an auction titled An Erudite Collection: objects and works of art from Shang to Qing Dynasty.

This month’s Asian art series in New York could be the last sales to avoid the new trade tariffs that have been imposed by the Trump administration.

The Northern Wei dynasty (386-534 AD), founded by the nomadic Tuoba clan, was the most long-lived and most powerful of the northern dynasties prior to the reunification of China under the Sui. Most importantly for Chinese art history, the ruling royal family were converts to Buddhism.

Two very different Chinese vases took the limelight at a recent sale Fieldings (24% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Stourbridge.

Indian miniatures are a common sight at UK auctions. With a keen, dedicated and often very knowledgeable collecting base, they remain a somewhat independent but active sub-set of the art market.