This set of 11 Chinese silk scroll paintings of mountains across seasons, silk laid on newer cloth, 65 by 17 inches each (approximate), achieved the auction’s high price of $51,200, selling to an online trade buyer ($3/5,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
HANOVER, MASS. — Eldred’s two-day Asian art auction on June 12-13 saw 436 lots of Asian art, jewelry, decorative arts, rugs, furniture, clothing and weaponry cross the block. In total, the auction brought in $218,500. Annie Lajoie, head of Asian and contemporary art at Eldred’s shared, “The continuing strength of our Asian sales are the private collections that come our way, most notably the estates. The standout lots are from private sources, both in collections that had been passed down from their parents, who had collected for years, not just Asian art, but good marine, export and Americana as well. The bidding pool is now something of an unknown entity to us with the advancement of online bidding. So many of our bidders now bid online and do not come in person to preview.”
A set of 11 Chinese scroll paintings hung for the sale’s highest price: $51,200. Estimated at just $3/5,000, the mountain scenes painted on silk were all done by the same artist and each scroll was titled and marked with a seal in the upper margin. The scrolls came from a private Rhode Island collection and, according to Eldred’s head of marketing, Cheryl Stewart, “This was a nicely executed set, showing a progression of the seasons, in good condition.” Lajoie added, “Obviously, the lot of scroll paintings was a standout, and the winning bidder is known to us: a collector of fine scrolls, screens and other Asian arts.”
Notable prices were also achieved by Chinese jade. Lajoie noted, “High prices for jades are commensurate with their quality and their age. The large, covered vase had a collector’s label that was identified and traced back to an important New York collection.” That large vase, carved from white jade during the Nineteenth Century, had raised dragon, fiery pearl and ruyi (scepter) details swirled along its body while its cover was carved with a reclining kylin, which is a type of Chinese mythical figure similar to a unicorn. Paired with a carved wooden base and a fitted case, it left Cape Cod, Mass., to head to China for $24,320.
This Indo-Persian shamshir sword from the first half of the Nineteenth Century, 36 inches long in total, had Kundan-style inlaid gemstones and silver and gilt metal decoration; it sold to an online bidder for $4,800 ($5/7,000).
Other jade pieces that impressed bidders included a carved pale celadon jade vase from the early Twentieth Century. This vase was in a gu form — tall and slender with a flared base and even wider mouth — and had a Greek key lappet and taotie (beast) mask decoration. Its hexagonal base was attached to a rectangular wooden base and it was sold with a kiriwood box with a certificate from Edo & Co, Japan. Rising well beyond its $800 high estimate, the vase brought $4,480.
A late Nineteenth Century Chinese cloisonné enamel cosmetics box featured an inset carved white jade plaque with ruyi design on its cover. In a leaf form, the small box had floral-decorated sides in shades of blue and green. This box, estimated just $200/250, came from a Louisiana collection and sold to an online buyer in China for $1,664.
Artworks included traditional paintings, woodblock prints, sculptures and mixed media assemblages. One such piece was a late Eighteenth Century Chinese table screen. Though it was utilitarian, the maker took exceptional care to design a scene on the screen’s front surface. A house, animals and flowering trees were all crafted with hardstone against a carved and painted lacquered wood landscape. The intricate screen’s reverse side was marked with continuous gold calligraphy, and it was on a rosewood base with inlaid calligraphy and a central drawer. This screen came from a Cape Cod estate and sold to an online bidder in China for $17,920.
“Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight,” a woodblock print triptych by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japanese, 1839-1892), 21 by 37 inches framed, danced past its estimates to achieve $5,400 ($300/600).
A woodblock print triptych by Japanese artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi also sold well above estimates, bringing $5,440 from a European buyer. The work, titled “Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight,” was done circa 1882 and bore the Uchida watermark. Each of the oban tate-e size (14 by 9¼ inches) prints was in good condition and they were framed together. Prints from Yoshitoshi’s “One Hundred Views of the Moon” series were also sold. The five prints — number 42, “Little Prince Usu”; number 58, “Yorimasa”; number 63, “Yasumasa”; number 91, “Masushi Plain”; and number 98, “Semimaru” — came from a Southern collector and sold to an online buyer in Massachusetts for $2,304.
Just in time for the heatwave, an American buyer scored a Chinese summer-weight robe, which came from a Florida consignor, for $12,160, flying well past its $1,000 high estimate. The Nineteenth Century blue damask silk robe had needlework panels of five-clawed dragons, done in gilt metallic thread, surrounded by colorful clouds, flowers, waves and other decorative elements. The robe was fastened with five gilt metal brocade ball-form buttons.
A prominent Miami collection consigned an Indo-Persian shamshir, or curved single-edge sword, which was won by an online bidder in California for $4,800. The sword had a horse-head handle and cross guard that were decorated with magenta Kundan-style inlaid gemstones and silver and gilt metal decoration and the blade measured 30 inches in length.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Eldred’s will be conducting auctions Tuesday through Friday during Americana Week, July 22-25. For information, www.eldreds.com or 508-385-3116.
