antiquesandartireland.com

This painting by Zhang Daqian - Snow Storm Switzerland - is at Sotheby's Hong Kong. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 9.62 MILLION HKD

More than 2,900 lots will feature at Sotheby’s Hong Kong spring sales from March 31 to April 4.  The five days sale  of fine Chinese ceramics and works of art, fine Chinese paintings, contemporary Asian art, 20th century Chinese art, modern and contemporary Southeast Asian paintings, jewelry, watches and wines is expected to make more than HK$1.8 billion / US$233 million.

Ming Yongle_ Blue and White Moonflask. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

Among the exceptional offerings, there is a Song dynasty washer from the  Ru kilns, an abstract work by Zao Wou-Ki entitled 25.06.86, an early Bloodline — Big Family: Family No.2 by contemporary artist Zhang Xiaogang and an  8.01-carat Emerald-cut fancy vivid blue diamond.  Sotheby’s will offer the third instalment of the Meiyintang Collection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains, the grandest collection of its kind in Europe.  (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 5, 2011)

Selected highlights will be showcased in travelling exhibitions in Jakarta (2 – 3 March), Shanghai (7 – 8 March), Beijing (10 – 11 March), Chengdu (13 – 14 March), Singapore (17 – 18 March), Bangkok (20 – 21 March) and Taipei (24 – 25 March).  The sales tale place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Detail from a topographical map of a fortified hill top fort in Northern India. (Click on image to enlarge).

Two early 19th century Jodhpur rulers seated in conversation. (Click on image to enlarge)

Property from the collection of the leading Mughal scholar with strong Dublin links Dr. Linda York Leach (1942-2006) will come under the hammer at Bonhams Islamic and Indian sale in London on April 24.

The Rajput schools of Indian miniatures are well represented in her 30-piece collection. Highlights include an image of the splendid jamas in fiery orange worn by the two early nineteenth Jodhpur rulers seated in conversation (£3,000-4,000), a portrait of a late eighteenth century Mandi prince holding a falcon (£1,200 to £1,500) and an unusual eary 19th century topographical map from Northern India of a fortified hill top for (£8,000-12,000). Bronzes, ivories, and textiles from the collection will also be offered.

Interest and scholarship in Indian miniature painting has grown considerably over the last fifty years and Dr Leach was central to this renewed scholarship. An American, Dr. Leach catalogued the Mughal and Indian miniatures in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.

Personnages et oiseaux devant le soleil, 1946, by Joan Miró (1893-1983) made £5,081,250. (Click on image to enlarge).

THE changing tastes of collectors was evident at a £30 million evening sale at Christie’s in London on February 9. The auction house charted the emergence of the kind of buyer who mixes and matches from different eras and places. This trend was evident at New York’s Armoury Show last month.  The top lot  at the evening auction Living with Art – A private European Collection on February 9 was a work by Miro which sold for just over £5 million. There was a world record of £3.5 million for a still life by Louis Melendez, whose work was subject of a popular exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland some years ago.

This Still Life by Luis Meléndez (1716-1780) made £3,513,250. (Click to enlarge).

“Collectors in today’s art market are no longer constrained to traditional collecting categories and are buying works of art with a focus on aesthetic quality, independent of origin or age. This trend was in great evidence this evening as we saw modern art collectors bidding for tribal art and furniture, and traditional collectors bidding for modern and contemporary pictures”, Orlando Rock, deputy chairman of Christie’s, Europe, said, adding: ‘ It is a great testament to the vision, quality and taste of this private collection that it attracted such competitive and diverse international bidding at this evening’s sale.”

Impressionist and modern art in this sale brought in £15,775,700. Personnages et oiseaux devant le soleil, 1946, by Joan Miró (1893-1983) made £5,081,250.  Femme au fauteuil, 1949, by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) made £4,745,250 and La table devant le bâtiment, 1919, by Juan Gris (1887-1927) made £2,505,250.

This 13th century bronze aquamanile in the form of a lion made £690,850. (Click on image to enlarge).

Post-War and Contemporary Art from the collection realised £8,092,900. The top lot was Katezale (Enchained), 1956, by Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) which made £1,945,250. Contracorrent (Crosscurrent), 1991, by Miquel Barceló (b. 1957) realised £1,497,250 and Die grosse Fracht (The Heavy Cargo), 2005, by Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) sold for £505,250. Old Master paintings realised £4,450,500. Oranges, nuts, spices, boxes of sweetmeats, a jug and a cask on a table by Luis Meléndez (1716-1780) made £3,513,250 and The Wedding Dance by Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8) realised £937,250 against a pre-sale estimate of £500,000 to £800,000. An exceptional North German 13th century bronze aquamanile (an implement used for washing hands at the table) in the form of a lion made £690,850 and a gilt-copper and polychrome  enamel rectangular reliquary chasse from Limoges, circa 1200, realised £217,250.

Vincent Van Gogh’s Vue de l’asile et de la Chappelle de Saint-Rémy, which sold for £10,121,250. Image courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click on image to enlarge).

IT was one of the most successful private collection sales ever at auction.  When the auctioneer’s gavel fell on the last lot of the complete Elizabeth Taylor collection at Christie’s in London on February 8 the grand total for the collection amounted to a staggering $183,483,694 dollars or £117,249,761 sterling or  141,036,143 euro. Every one of 1,817 lots of fine art, jewelry, fashion, decorative arts and memorabilia was sold, often high above the estimate.

In London 38 artworks from the collection were offered on February 7 and 8.  The top lot this week was Vincent Van Gogh’s Vue de l’asile et de la Chappelle de Saint-Rémy, which sold for £10,121,250.  Buyers from more than 40 countries took part.

Marc Porter, Chairman, Christie’s Americas commented, “It has been an incredible honor for Christie’s to present this storied collection to the global collecting community. From our initial announcement of the collection sales last summer in New York, to the worldwide tour of the collection highlights last fall, to the last rap of the auctioneer’s gavel today in London, the global outpouring of affection and admiration for Elizabeth Taylor from fans and collectors alike has been amazing for us to witness.  We are grateful to the trustees of her estate for entrusting Christie’s with this one-of-a-kind collection, which will go down in history as one of the most successful private collection sales ever presented at auction.”