Chinese Works of Art

A lot that made far more than expected at Drouot’s sales was this large circular blue and white dish which came up in a June 14 auction at Theirry de Maigret (30% buyer’s premium inc tax) where it realised €135,000 (£114,405).

Over the course of six days from June 7-14, a dozen sales devoted to the arts of Asia were staged by 11 firms at the Drouot auction centre as part of Printemps Asiatique.

A group of Chinese objects in a June 14 sale of furniture and works of art held by Coutau Begarie (30% buyer’s premium inc tax) included this carved celadon jade group dated to the 18th century.

A long bidding battle took this Qianlong mark and period covered vase to a triple-estimate €230,000 (£194,915) to top Peschetau-Badin’s (30% buyer’s premium inc tax) Asian arts sale on June 13.

There was saleroom drama at Aste di Antiquariato Boetto (25% buyer’s premium) in Genoa on June 19 when a 12in (30cm) Chinese blue and white jar estimated at €2000-2300 shot to €820,000 (£692,000).

Two days needed to disperse items collected over generations thanks to biscuit production success

Estimated at $15,000-20,000 but hammering for $135,000 (£107,000), the highlight of the Asian works of art sale at Tenmoku (28/25/20% buyer’s premium) was a Chinese white-glazed incised dragon vase.

A Qing vase later converted to a lamp sailed beyond expectations at an Andrew Jones Collections & Estates sale.

A Chinese export oil showing a Qing emperor at court led a single-owner dispersal at Tremont Auctions (27% buyer’s premium) in Sudbury, Massachusetts, on May 5.

A classic of the large blue and white forms of Yuan dynasty porcelain comes to auction in Spain

The stand-out performance in the March series of Asian art sales was a Qing monochrome clair-de-lune bottle vase offered by Freeman’s Hindman (26% buyer’s premium) in Chicago on March 24.

This 8in (19cm) high vase may belong to a select group of Ming cloisonné enamel vases dating to the Xuande period (1426-35).