This circa Fourteenth Century Korean large gilt-bronze figure of a bodhisattva achieved enlightenment at $441,000 in the “Dharma & Tantra” auction.
NEW YORK CITY — With a combination of five live and online sales that took place September 20-27, Sotheby’s Asia Week realized a total of $19,544,742. Kicking off the week on September 20 was “Power/Conquest: The Forging of Empires,” which achieved a total of $7,090,524. The top price of the sale was $1,083,600, realized for the Yi Yu Gui, Western Zhou dynasty, King Zhao period, probably circa 980 BCE, which easily exceeded its $600/800,000 estimate.
That same day, in “Dharma & Tantra,” a large gilt-bronze figure of a bodhisattva, Korean, circa Fourteenth Century, sold within estimate for $441,000. It was the top lot in a sale that achieved a total of $2,816,730.
The firm’s semiannual sale of Important Chinese Art on September 21, which made $7,394,562, was led at $756,000 by a superbly carved white jade “dragon” vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, which came in slightly below its $800,000-$1.2 million estimate.
Exceeding expectations, however, was a white-glazed Moon Jar from the Joseon dynasty, late Seventeenth or early Eighteenth Century. It made $403,200 against an estimate of $180/250,000 and was the high water mark in the firm’s “Sublime Beauty: Korean Ceramics from a Private Collection” auction on September 22 that brought $1,272,600.
Closing out Asia with an online sale titled “China / 5000 Years,” a Ming-style blue and white “dragon” moonflask, Qing dynasty, roared to $47,880, a substantial rise from its $10/15,000 estimate. The sale, which opened September 16, closed September 27 with a total of $970,326.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.sothebys.com.
