Hyped from several days of auctions, gallery openings and the private showings that make Asia Week a blockbuster event for out-of-town buyers, the crowd that descended on the March 24 preview of the Arts of Pacific Asia Show arrived eager to buy. Often times moving in small groups, they were proactive in requesting items for inspection and took their time examining forms, marks and workmanship.
This is exactly what the 66 international dealers at the Caskey-Lees show had hoped for. By the time Arts of Pacific Asia closed on Sunday, March 27, a remarkable number of goods had left the building or were awaiting shipment to various parts of the world.
But in the quiet moments prior to the opening, the exhibits in the 11 floor gallery at 7 West 34 Street were a portal to the mysteries, culture and history of Asia. With rare imperial porcelains, archaic bronzes, demons deities and textiles all vying for attention, it was easy to grasp the renewed appeal of the treasures.
For example, at Lotus Gallery of Austin, Texas, a rare three-tier, green glazed pottery oil lamp gave a glimpse into funerary rituals of the Han dynasty (200 BC′00 AD). Intended to light the burial chamber, the lamp relied on musicians, horse and mythical animals to bear the oil cups. At the top, an allegorical phoenix oversaw all. Meanwhile, a large Qi dynasty pottery ox cart pulled by an ox still commemorated the life and death of a merchant. The exuberance of life was captured by an Eighteenth Century cut velvet carpet of red and orange hues, which, according to Jonathan Tung, was a throne platform covering.
Around the corner at Jan Van Beers, London, a Northern Song stoneware vase with sgraffito decorations on a dark brown body spoke of an earlier aesthetic. Meanwhile, a group of 12 rare turquoise porcelain zodiac animals, each 5 inches tall, charmed passersby. Standing upright, dressed in the Chinese manner and wearing boots, the animals were rendered in poses characteristic to their nature.
At Vallin Galleries, Wilton, Conn., the turquoise glaze was again seen on a pair of large porcelain foo dogs and a porcelain ice bucket with a reticulated carved wood cover. A large six-panel pictorial screen made the perfect backdrop to an impressive scholar’s rock of wave form on a wooden base.
At Imperial Oriental Arts, New York City, a collection of pink porcelain was placed against the deep red walls. Flanking a large molded lotus-shape fishbowl, circa Nineteenth Century, were two massive pink jars decorated with famille rose female figures and birds, also Nineteenth Century. A massive pair of blue and white hexagonal vases with covers and animal finials greeted people alighting from elevators, while impressive collections of famille rose, celadon and cinnabar filled three towering vitrines.
Once again, Jean and Clifford Schaffer of Flying Cranes Antiques, New York City, managed to wow with a fine collection of large Ikebana baskets. One, a 27-inch-tall wagumi basket in the Yarata style by bamboo master Yufu Masatake, contained one-half-inch-wide sections of bamboo woven into irregular plaiting. It was finished with an extraordinary handle fashioned of twisted strands of bamboo and bamboo rope. Nearby, a delighted bronze and parcel-gilt fishmonger displayed his catch overhead.
Portrayed with one leg naturalistically raised, the Okimono was said to be a symbol of achievement and success. With fine Satsuma and rare Yokahama silver objects encased in glass, one had to wonder about the confluence of influences between East and West. Surprisingly, this was well described in a Namban six-panel screen that depicted the arrival of Portuguese black ships on the shores of Japan. The intruders were rendered with outlandish expressions, an indication of how they were initially viewed by the greeting population.
Clearly, the Japanese love the drama of facial expressions. Such was the case at Axel Michels Oriental Art, Kyoto, Japan, where a massive carved wooden head of Nioh was both frightening and appealing. The 450-year-old carving, perhaps 4 feet high, devoid of the glass eyes it probably once had but still expressive, given the fearsome bushy eyebrows and open mouth, was thought to be an unfinished studio piece.
Extending the vocabulary of the demon deity form, Thomas Murray Asiatica Ethnographica, Mill Valley, Calif., showed masks. An Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century Black Mahakala, from Tibet, of papier mache, pigment and fiber, 14 inches tall, was most powerful. It had been worn by a monk during the Cham dance, a theater piece that involves a pantheon of tantric deities.
Joss Graham’s spice boat †literally made of cloves strung head to tail and sewn together with cotton thread †was a showstopper. At least 22 inches long, the three-masted schooner manned by a clove crew was possibly the work of a prisoner, the London-based dealer said. Graham’s more familiar textile offerings were displayed on walls and folded on tables. Among them was a rare a double ikat silk sari.
The highlight of Chinalai Tribal Antiques, Shoreham, N.Y., was a rare Hainan Island dragon cover with a fascinating back story. The hand embroidered silk on cotton was, according to Lee Chinalai, possibly the prototype for subsequent pieces. Used secretly by the people who made these covers on consignment for mainland clients, dragon covers were among treasures exposed by the Red Guard. This particular one, comprising three panels, was clearly a wedding piece, as indicated by the pairing of dragons and phoenix.
With deities abounding in Asian arts, it was not surprising to see that Jonathan Tucker and Antonia Toxer Asian Art, London, filled a booth with them. On the wall, a Nepalese architectural tympanum section portrayed Krishna playing the flute and supported by a pair of naked gopis . Below, a Tenth or Eleventh Century sandstone relief of the eight-armed Ganesha with musician attendants attested to the seamless integration of life and religion. From Laos came a seated bronze Buddha, late Nineteenth Century. From Sri Lanka, a carved sandalwood standing Buddha, mid-Eighteenth Century, slender and elegant, showed the myriad versions of the Gods.
Soo Tze Oriental Arts offered a dramatic fire gilt-copper necklace from an image of a Nineteenth Century Mongolian deity. A ring of semiprecious gems surmounted the floral and foliate motifs. The necklace was at least 5 inches deep. Nearby, a set of eight gilt-bronze Buddhas, of Sri Lankan origin, may have been the smallest deity forms at the show.
Of a more human nature was the stellar collection of 100 Chinese belt adornments (daigou) at Robyn Buntin of Honolulu, Hawaii. The belt buckles were collected over several decades came from a single American collector and ranged in period from the Han to Qing dynasties. An equally unique collection of 88 archers’ rings formed another collection. The rings, which are used on the thumb of the bow-holding hand to protect it from the bowstring, have been attributes of successful Mongolian armies.
Anavian Gallery, New York City, offered a wide range of Asian wares, although it also displayed antique weapons, including a Ninth Century Islamic cannon.
One could not in good conscience leave Arts of Pacific Asia 2010 without mentioning the 3-foot-tall archaic bronze horse that anchored Hong Kong-based Maria Kiang’s booth. The Han dynasty animal, in prancing position, tail up, was a spectacular piece of work, and merely a millennium old.
The 2011 Arts of Pacific Asia Show is already being anticipated. For further information contact Caskey-Lees at www.caskeylees.com or 310-455-2886.
