The Antiques Trade Gazette Award for Outstanding East Asian Work of Art from an Auction House goes to Bonhams for the imperial Beijing enamel teapot, pictured above.
This teapot shows a Qianlong blue enamel four-character mark of the period (1736-95) and is one of three known examples of this form and type. The judges regarded this item as a true showstopper that ticked all the boxes.
In the dealer section, the winner of the Apollo award for the Outstanding East Asian Work of Art goes to Eskenzai for the lacquer head of a bodhisattva, pictured below.
Dating from the Tang dynasty, 8th century, the head is significant as a rare survivor of the hollowcore dry lacquer sculptural technique used in China for a short period, primarily between the sixth and eighth centuries.
A lacquer head of a bodhisattva, Tang dynasty, 8th century, for sale from Eskenazi.
