Bidders came drawn by the toothsome offerings of jade at Skinner’s two-day April sale of Asian works of art on April 24′5, but it was a Turkish jeweled saber that captured much attention †and the most money.
The Eighteenth Century weapon had a repousse silver scabbard with arabesques and trophy arms and silver bosses with Solomon’s star and a tughra, all of which were set with emeralds, diamonds and rubies. The grip was white jade set with the same stones. It sold for $118,500 to a New York agent for a European buyer.
Another weapon of note was a Seventeenth Century Ottoman dagger with an ivory hilt and a blade inlaid with gold in a floral pattern and a green inscription that fetched $7,110 from a collector.
A Chinese jade carving of a lion that was thought to be from the Han period (Second Century BC⁓econd Century CE) brought $112,575. The pale green figure was described as having considerable erosion to the surface, but it was the exceptional age that captivated buyers. It came from a New York State collection and went to a mainland China buyer.
Two rhinoceros horn libation cups were star attractions. One, a Seventeenth or Eighteenth Century honey amber color was carved with the three friends: pine, bamboo and prunus, with ling chih and narcissus blossoms, and brought $59,250 from a buyer in the front row. The second, an Eighteenth Century example in a dark amber color, was carved as a lotus leaf with a pair of chih lung and flowering plants. It brought $27,255 on the phone. Both cups returned to China.
Although most buyers were Chinese, James F. Callahan who heads up Skinner’s Asian works of art department points to an emerging trend: He sees the Chinese buyers now branching out to purchase Tibetan, Indian and Japanese objects. A good portion of the top lots of the sales is headed to China. There is somewhat of a recession-proof aspect of Asian art; it is relatively unaffected by the vicissitudes of the economy.
A Sixteenth Century Tibetan gilt bronze image of the Buddha of the Future Manjushri was engraved with flowers and clouds and inset with coral, lapis lazuli, turquoise and pearls and sold for $56,288. It came from a California collection and has gone to China. The same buyer paid $9,480 for an early Twentieth Century Chinese gilt silver box with jade bands, filigree and enameling, set with tourmalines, jade and other gems.
An Eighteenth Century Ch’ien Lung period jade carving of a boy holding a ju-i and a rattle, with a goat at his side, was made from a greenish white stone with russet markings. It sold for $50,363.
A Twelfth Century bronze image of the Hindu goddess of wisdom Prajnaparamita from the Pala period with a deep gray green patina realized $20,145. It went to the same Chinese buyer in the room who paid $15,405 for an Eighteenth Century parcel gilt bronze censer with the Ch’ien Lung mark, with a Makara form handle and decorated with Sanskrit letters. An Eighteenth Century Chinese gilt bronze image of the deity Mahakala bore the Ch’ien Lung mark and inscribed with the Chinese name of the divinity brought $10,665.
An Eighteenth Century Tibetan or eastern Mongolian gilt bronze image of Hayagriva, the god of wisdom and knowledge, with coral and turquoise inlay and repousse work, sold in the gallery for $7,703. Two Eighteenth Century Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze images attracted interest. One was a 7-inch figure of the green Tara, and the other was a 4¼-inch figure of Sitara (the white Tara), and they brought $5,925 each.
A large stoneware plaque from the Ming dynasty, probably the Wan Li period, depicting Amida seated on a lotus throne went to a phone bidder for $11,258. An early Twentieth Century porcelain plaque decorated with a famille rose mountain landscape in a rosewood frame measured 29¾ by 17 inches and sold for $33,180. A collection of 16 Eighteenth Century Chinese carvings, including white jade, jadeite, amber, turquoise, lapis, pearl and coral was colorful and appealing for its unusual qualities. It fetched $27,255.
An Eighteenth Century Chinese soapstone carving of the goddess of mercy Kuan Yin with a scroll and rosary was $23,700. A Nineteenth Century Chinese rosewood demilune table, with a pink marble inset and on cabriole legs that were carved with foo dog heads and flowers and an apron carved with flowers, sold for $15,405.
An Eighteenth Century pure white jade carving with a double fish and a resonance stone decoration sold for $20,145. It came from a Midwestern dealer collector and is headed to China. A carved jade covered vase in a bright green color with swirling areas of even more intense color and jump rings carved in the form of bats and ling shih was $18,960.
A pair of crystal clear jade cups, with cloudy white markings and areas of bright green, fetched $17,775, and a brilliant green jade brush rest with amber areas and carved with a melon plant and an insect was $10,665. A jade bowl made from a translucent green stone with areas of emerald green and carved in the form of a ju-i realized $10,073.
A Chinese covered jar and joined chain in translucent pale green jade with areas of emerald and russet was carved with dragons, pearls and clouds and sold for $11,850. An Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century jade carving of the three fruits: Buddha’s hand citron, peaches and pomegranates also fetched $11,850. A celadon green jade carved study of a reclining horse with a monkey grasping a scepter went for $8,888. An Eighteenth Century Chinese table screen of an oval celadon jade plaque with a scene of the Immortals set in a Nineteenth Century rosewood frame was $14,220.
A Nineteenth Century grey-white jade finial with russet marks and carved finely and pierced with peacocks and other birds and flowering plants brought $14,220, and a pale green jade censer from the Eighteenth Century had animal form feet, lion mask handles and a pierced top and fetched $7,703. A translucent pale green Chinese jade cup carved in the shape of an archaic bronze Tsun sold in the gallery for $4,740.
A Chinese jade seal in a translucent green gray color with areas of bright green and engraved with chih lung, bats and coins on a silver base set with silver coins went to the same buyer for $8,295.
A 28-inch Nineteenth Century Chinese famille jeune vase, painted exquisitely in Fen Tsai enamel scenes of the Immortals, sold for $11,850. An underglaze red and blue decorated Kuan jar with the six-character Ch’ien Lung mark and decorated with rocks and thunder meanders, bamboo and diapering was also $11,850.
An Eighteenth Century pair of globular porcelain jars with famille verte decoration sold for $10,665.
The highlight of the Chinese ivories was a Ch’ien Lung period carved seal in the form of a dragon holding a celestial pearl among floating clouds that brought $11,850. The seal was particularly rare and came from an upstate New York collection. It had not seen the light of day since the 1930s.
A Third Century gray schist panel from the Gandaran kingdom in India with the figures of the deities Panchika and Harithi sold for $7,703. A First Century Roman torso that was a 9-inch copy of a figure of Apollo by Praxtieles went for $7,110, and an Egyptian granite carving of the goddess Isis and the infant Horus sold online for $5,925. A pair of Chinese cloisonné prickets from the late Nineteenth Century was signed Lao Tien Chih and drew $8,295, while a Chinese cloisonné hand warmer from the Eighteenth Century came from a collection north of Boston and sold for $5,629.
A pair of Nineteenth Century Chinese embroideries of the Taoist Immortals at Po Shan sold for $5,036, and a Nineteenth Century Chinese court robe with dragons embroidered in gold on a blue ground was also $5,036.
All prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, www.skinnerinc.com or 508-970-3000.
