Asian Art

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.

The history of Satsuma wares, among the most recognised and profitable export products of the Meiji period, is interwoven with the opening up of Japan after centuries of isolation.

Every year Asian Art in London presents two awards for the most outstanding work of art: one for an item offered by a dealer, the other for a work offered by an auction house. The awards are co-sponsored by Antiques Trade Gazette and Apollo magazine.

The most important example of Qing glassware to appear at auction sold for HK$180m (£18m) – the highlight of Sotheby’s recent series in Hong Kong.

A Qianlong period export plaque decorated after a scene by Louis-Marin Bonnet (1736-93) was among the Fine Art Asia highlight sales.

Views of processions, pageants and parades tend to attract special interest at auction, such as this view of an Indian procession bid to £6800 in Gloucestershire.

Made in Gujarat or Sindh in the 18th century, a sandalwood table cabinet profusely inlaid with ivory flowers and tendrils throughout was a fine example of Mughal craftsmanship and led the way at a recent sale at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

A generation ago pieces such as this splendid 20in (50cm) famille rose ‘dragon’ charger from the Guangxu period (1874-1908) were valued chiefly as decorative objects. However, appreciation of the best quality porcelain produced in the last years of the Qing continues to grow.

At the budget-price end of the Chinese boom – which tends to get overlooked – profits are there for the keen eyed, such as the vendor of this twin-handled censer shown here.

Three Islamic and Indian art dealers have teamed up to launch an exhibition coinciding with the London auction event Islamic Week.