LITCHFIELD, CONN. — A painting on scroll from the coveted Twentieth Century Chinese artist Qian Songyan brought $125,000 to an in-house bidder at Litchfield County Auctions’ September 16 sale. The work measured 46 ½ by 12 ¾ inches and was dated to 1935.

Entitled “Autumn Mountain Gorge with Scholars,” the work came from the estate of the former CFO of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund, and had been purchased by him in 1990 from the estate of a world traveler based in St. Petersburg, Fla. The painting was fresh to the market and had not been shown since its purchase 27 years ago.

Other Chinese items fared well in the sale, including a Nineteenth Century Meiji Period anthropomorphic vase from Yabu Meizan, featuring “a fantasy of frogs and toads in the guise of a daimyo procession.” The 4 ¾ inch high was decorated in polychrome enamels and gilt on a clear crackle ground, earthenware vase with an ovoid body. It flew off the block to bring $37,500 against a $3,000 high estimate. In the same vein, a pair of Huanghuali horseshoe back arm chairs tripled their $5,000 high estimate to land at $18,750.
All prices include the buyer’s premium.

Watch for a complete report in a coming issue.