Contributors
Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
Ceramics & Glass
Imperial Dragons, Imperial Prices?
October 31, 2011Unlike European dragons, which generally connote evil, Chinese dragons are associated with the Emperor. An example of this is wide-shouldered, enameled and blue ’nine-dragon’ Imperial vase that Bonhams will be offering on November 10th in London. Bearing the Qianlong seal mark, it’s estimated at $482,000-643,000.
Read more...Hong Kong Shrugs Off Turmoil
October 06, 2011In a result that’s seen an encouraging sign of continuing demand in Asian markets, Sotheby’s closed out its six day Asian sales series in Hong Kong with a final tally of $385m. That amount was considerably higher than the auction house’s $300m pre-sales estimate for the 3,600 lots offered, and the second highest total Sotheby’s has achieved in a Hong Kong series.
Read more...Eye On Asia For Sotheby’s Hong Kong Auctions
September 29, 2011This weekend Sotheby’s launches its autumn auction series in Hong Kong with a variety of events featuring wine, Chinese art, jewelry and watches. They’ll be enticing deep-pocketed Asian buyers with all sorts of high-value offerings, among the priciest of which will likely be two porcelain vases, one from the Qianlong period, the other from the Ming Dynasty. Each is estimated at $10.2-$15,4m.
Read more...Solid Asia Week For Christie’s
September 16, 2011Christie’s was hoping to snare upwards of $50m at its series of Asia sales this week in New York. The auction house did considerably better than that, pulling in almost $76m during its three days of events at which it offered thousands of art objects, including jade, museum quality furniture, rare ceramics and porcelain. Among the highs was the sale of a rare 18th century blue and white Ming-style moonflask, for which a buyer paid $2.7m, almost four times its high estimate.
Read more...‘Breathtaking’ Bottle & Flask Collection
September 06, 2011Glass bottle and flask collectors are in a world of their own, but few matched the passion of Thomas McÇandless, who singlehandedly built his collection over 40 years, before his recent death. Connecticut auctioneers Norman C. Heckler & Co., will sell the entire collection over three sessions. One star of the auction will be an1840’s yellow flask with an embossed portrait of George Washington. It could go for $30,000.
Read more...Wynn’s “Gift” To China
July 11, 2011Steve Wynn more than doubled down when he bought four Chinese vases at a Christie’s auction for eight times their high estimate. He then gave the vases to the People’s Republic, but they will be displayed at the new Wynn resort in Macau yet to be built, pending final approval from the government. Wynn sprung for $12.8 million.
Read more...Heady Snuff Bottle Sale In Hong Kong
May 25, 2011Taking snuff may not have been a common practice since the 17th century, but you’d never have known it at Bonhams’ sale of Chinese Snuff bottles in Hong Kong today. Buyers snapped up all 142 lots at the auction, with top honors going to a gold-ground enameled copper Imperial bottle manufactured around 1770 in the Beijing Palace Workshops. It sold for $544,000.
Read more...High Expectations For Hong Kong Art Sale
May 24, 2011Training their sights on deep-pocketed mainland Chinese collectors, Christie’s launches a series of Hong Kong auctions this weekend, with sales of ceramics, wine, watches, jewels, and Chinese Art. Expectations are especially high for their auction of 20th century and contemporary art, for which Asians collectors have shown such avid interest. Fifteen of the 45 lots are expected to sell for more than $1m. Leading the way, with an estimate of $3.2m is Zeng Fanzhi’s 1966 self-portrait.
Read more...Chinese Teapots Steam Past Estimates
May 17, 2011Commonplace as rocketing prices at Asian art sales have become, the results at Bonhams’ recent Fine Chinese Art sales still caused a stir. A pair of teapots with iron-red Imperial Qianlong seal marks estimated at just $32,496–$48,744—a range that reflected its lack of authentication—sold to a Chinese buyer for an astonishing $2.19m.
Read more...Hermes Dog Leashes? Absolutely
April 13, 2011At Christie’s last “Elegance” sale in December, nine Hermes handbags sold for almost $50,000 each. This year’s auction in London on May 25th and 26th features a similar grab bag of luxury items: Expensive watches, jewelry, more exotic skin Hermes handbags, even Hermes crocodile dog collars and leashes. One colorful offering is a 9ct. gold Cartier notebook case that was a gift from Lord Mountbatten’s wife to Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe. She called him “Fruity.”
Read more...Sotheby’s Most Successful Hong Kong Series Ever
April 08, 2011When the final hammer came down today, closing out Sotheby’s most successful series of auctions in Hong Kong to date, more than $447m had changed hands, well above the $340m anticipated. Over eight days, Sotheby’s offered more than 3,600 lots across eight categories, as record highs were recorded for wine, watches, and various categories of Asian art.
Read more...Chinese Ceramics Fizzle In Hong Kong
April 07, 2011It was expected to be the highlight of Sotheby’s weeklong series of auctions in Hong Kong. Instead, today’s sale of the much-lauded Meiyintang Collection of Chinese ceramics was something of a fizzle. Many of the top lots went unsold, and the auction achieved a total of just $51m, considerably below Sotheby’s top estimate of $137m. What went wrong? “The market,” said Sotheby’s Nicolas Chow, “sets its own prices.”
Read more...Sotheby’s Begins Spring Hong Kong Sales
March 31, 2011Watches, wine, art, jewelry, Chinese ceramics, and porcelain – they’ll all be featured as Sotheby’s begins its series of Asia Week auctions tomorrow in Hong Kong. There will even be a sale devoted to Rhinocerus Horn Carvings. Kicking off the series will be a wine auction, The Classic Cellar from a Great American Collector, featuring 69 lots of Mouton Rothschild, for which Hong Kong buyers have demonstrated a notable thirst. Included are 6 Jeroboams and 6 Imperials, estimated to sell for as much as $18,000 each.
Read more...Christie’s Record Asia Week
March 28, 2011Asian collectors hurled their millions at heritage artworks, with Chinese Ceramics drawing the lion’s share. Chinese works alone contributed $76.75 million. When Christie’s Asian Art Week in New York was over, fully $117 million had changed hands. It was Christie’s highest total ever for a series of Chinese art sales and almost $40 million more than the previous record.
Read more...$7.9m Chinese Vase At Christie’s
March 25, 2011Asia buyers once again turned out in force at Christie’s auction of Chinese art in New York yesterday. Seven of the top ten lots from the Morton and Grace Gordon collection went to private collectors from Asia. A Qianlong celadon-glazed carved baluster vase (1736-1795) sold for $7.9m, doubling its $2-$4m estimate. “Today,”said dealer Qing Shuai Wang, “the Chinese are desperate for Qianlong period porcelain.”
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