Asian Art

Optimism permeated the UK’s regional auction market across much of the last year.

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has been given an important private collection of modern and contemporary Chinese art.

The sale by Christie’s of 24 items of Chinese ceramics from Croydon’s Riesco Collection will go ahead after a legal challenge failed through lack of funds.

This Yongzheng yellow and green enamel vase was the highest-selling lot from the week-long auction series of Asian art held in London.

An 18th century casket made from fragments of Chinese porcelain has been bought by the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Among the highlights of the New York Asia Week series of sales at Doyle New York was this Qianlong white jade phoenix ewer.

The London Borough of Croydon has chosen Christie’s as the auctioneers for its controversial sale of 24 Chinese works of art from its collection.

Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions are to hold a pilot sale of Contemporary Chinese art in partnership with Yourun International (UK) Art Investment & Management Ltd, a London-based arts and cultural institution specialising in promoting emerging Chinese artists.

Croydon Council have approved the controversial sale of 24 pieces of Chinese ceramics.

An exceptional piece of 17th century Japanese export lacquer with a provenance to match has produced the highest auction price in France this year when it was sold to the Rijksmuseum for a hammer price of €5.9m (£5.26m).

Abstinence was a ceremonial requirement prior to worshipping the ancestors, the heavens or other deities in the Qing court.

The Museums Association is seeking urgent talks with Croydon Council to question them about a plan to sell 24 items from their 230-piece antique Chinese ceramics collection.

Previously on loan to the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, this unusually large Jiaqing (1796-1820) period export porcelain punch bowl decorated with the Cholmondeley of Vale Royal coat of arms sold for £43,000 at nearby Saltney saleroom Byrne’s this week.

These tiny Chinese agate carvings jointly estimated at just £200-300 stole the show at Woolley & Wallis’ Asian series when they sold for 500 times the top guide in a packed saleroom in Salisbury.

Stuttgart auctioneers Nagel achieved a new German auction record for Oriental art when they sold a Yongzheng mark and period wine pot and cover for €2.8m (£2.37m).

The Pinault family, owners of Christie’s and the luxury goods group PPR, are to hand back to China the two Qianlong bronzes that caused great upset when offered for sale in Paris four years ago.

One of the highlights of the latest raft of Islamic auctions in London was an unusual half-moon-shaped 10th/11th century granite temple step from Sri Lanka which had spent years in a Devon garden.

A new auction high for Qing Kangxi porcelain was established in Sotheby’s latest spring sale series in Hong Kong.

This Chinese gilt-bronze figure of Maitreya dating to the Qing dynasty was among the Asian highlights on offer at The Canterbury Auction Galleries’ latest sale.

The best Chinese works of art continue to prosper in the salerooms.