Chinese-Asian works of art flambuoyant @ Bonhams auction in San Francisco on August 30th

2 septembre 2011

Chinese-Asian works of art flambuoyant @ Bonhams auction in San Francisco on August 30th

A small blue and white porcelain vase. Wanli mark and period. Of pear form with loop and mock ring handles above a pear-shaped body and tall foot, painted with a band of alternating dragons and phoenix and the six-character mark in regular script in a horizontal line on the outside edge of the cupped lip (restored). 6 3/4in (17cm) high. Sold for $26,840, Est. $6,000-8,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Porcelain, bronzes, paintings and jades kept buyers active all day at Bonhams’ Asian Works of Art auction in San Francisco on August 30th. As expected, Chinese works of art led the way, selling one by one to a roomful of Mainland Chinese buyers, eager to repatriate their cultural heritage.

A traditionally strong ivory section kept spirits high for the hardstone carvings and jades. The highlight of the jade section was a calcified jade carving of a recumbent horse. Conservatively dated to the 20th century, the strong graceful lines of the delicate, but powerful carving combined with a stunning color of stone for tremendous effect. Potential buyers, both in the room and on the phones, kept the auctioneer at a galloping pace before the piece was finally hammered at $34,160.

A calcified jade carving of a recumbent horse. 20th century. Sold for US$34,160. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

Another, among many highlights, was a finely carved coral branch—a skilled Chinese artisan executed a stunning array of tiny branches and flowers spewing from a vase, with even a little cat hiding amidst the fronds. This imaginative composition smashed all expectations, blooming into a $46,360 purchase price.

A carved coral branch. 20th century. Sold for US$46,360. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

Traditionally a symbol of the ethics and virtue of statecraft since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Chinese bronzes and metalwork continued to be de rigeur for a new generation of art connoisseurs eager to prove their virtù. A bronze censer with elephant handles turned out to be a must-have for any new scholar-official in the making. With a base stamped with the honorific Xuande mark deemed essential by Ming dynasty manuals of good taste, this 18th/19th century version of a classic shape fetched a noble price, at $10,980.

A bronze censer with elephant handles. 18th/19th century. Heavily cast with thick walls of bombé form supporting the elephant handles and raised on a flared foot, the recessed base centered with a recessed square with effaced sixteen-character Xuande mark (surface soiling, mark removed); with reticulated wood cover. 13 1/2in (34cm) long. Sold for US$10,980. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams

Dated to a similar period of manufacture, two bronze seals with dragon finials, inscribed ‘the official who proffers and explicates the classics,’ were also sublime examples of Qing dynasty metal work, and were worth every ingot of their purchase price of $15,860.

Two bronze seals with dragon finials. Qing dynasty. The first of square form cast with the inscription Wang De zhi yin (seal of Wang De) and the second of rectangular shape with the inscription jing yan jiang guan ('the official who proffers and explicates the classics,' a civil rank within the ruling bureaucracy), the finials similarly cast as a reticulated dragon emerging from clouds. 2 1/4in (5.5cm) high, 1 1/2 and 2 1/8in (4 and 5cm) long. Provenance: E & J Frankel Collection, New York. Sold for $15,860, Est. $4,000-6,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

The mainstay of the Chinese section was devoted to one of the pinnacle achievements of Chinese art and technology: porcelain. Prices were consistently strong with a small blue and white porcelain vase, mark and period of Wanli, one of the many standouts. This rare textbook Wanli example with sinewy dragons rendered in deep cobalt blue brought $26,840.

Reflecting the higher degree of control of both paste and glaze quality in the Qing, a blue and white rouleau vase, was decorated with a tightly composed masterwork of a figural tableau rendered in precisely layered hues. This stylistic opposite of the Wanli piece proved irresistible to buyers as well, bringing a majestic $46,360.

A blue and white porcelain rouleau vase. 19th century. Potted with a cupped rim and cylindrical neck encircled by a raised ridge separating delicately drawn linear patterns, the elongated body displaying a continuous imperial audience scene set within a palace garden. 17 3/4in (45cm) high. Sold for US$46,360. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams

Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian art also performed well. A painting of Bodhidharma, attributed to the 16th/17th century Japanese artist Kano Koi, was a suitably iconoclastic portrayal of the gruff Indian founder of the Zen school of Buddhism. A telephone bidder helped this piece achieve an enlightening price of $7,320.

Attributed to Kano Koi (c. 1569-1636), Bodhidharma. Hanging scroll, ink on paper; depicting the bearded patriarch in bust portrait, bearing the seal Koi, beneath a four-line Chinese inscription signed Takuan [sho]ro with two seals and dated Kan'ei mizunoe-saru shoto (early winter, 1632); together with an authentication slip by Okura Kosai (1795-1862), dated in accordance with 1847. 39 1/4 x 18 3/8in (99.7 x 46.7cm). Sold for US$7,320. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams

A two-panel Nihonga school screen, Taisho/Showa period represented a more exotic subject matter of two Indian beauties, which brought a strong price of $5,490. Both of these items will be enticin appetizers for the sale of Fine Japanese Art, as well as the Sartin Collection of Asian Art, featuring fine Himalayan and South Asian Art, both to be offered in our New York showrooms on the 13th of September.

Nihonga school (Taisho/Showa period), Indian beauties. Large two panel screen, ink, colors, and gold on paper; depicting two women wearing richly patterned costumes and elaborate jewelry partially rendered in gold moriage, the seated right figure smoking a hookah while the other reclines on the floral carpet near an earthenware pot and three pineapples, a pair of butterflies flitting through the air above; sealed (illegible) (split hinge). 73 3/4 x 77 1/2in (184.8 x 196.9cm). Sold for US$5,490. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams

Bonhams will hold its next San Francisco-based Asian Decorative Arts sale on the 15th of November. Highlights will be announced in the weeks preceding the sale. Consignments are invited.