The best seller was a pair of 18th century Qing Dynasty two-handled vases, one shown.
The 17in (43cm) high vases with elephant-head handles were painted in the Mandarin palette with scholars and dignitaries in landscapes and more than justified hopes of £4000-6000 when, despite suffering some wear to the gilding, they went to a London dealer at £7500.
Going further beyond top hopes was a Meiji period ivory okimono group of Benten signed Dogetsu. The 6in (15cm) work was carved with Benten riding a dragon and playing a stringed instrument and although it suffered minor chips and repair, it took £3600 from the London trade against an estimate of £1500-2000.
Best of the netsuke was an 18th century 11/2in (4cm) ivory example of a hen with two chicks playing around her. It was unsigned but attractive enough for a French collector to go to £2200 to secure it against an estimate of £800-900.
Quality in the Arcade
UK: The Arcade series at Sotheby’s South (15/10% buyer’s premium) is where the lesser pieces that come into the Sussex rooms are offered, but there were some quality items among the 316 lots of Oriental ceramics and Eastern works of art of which 235 got away bringing a hammer total of £139,000 on April 11.
