PHILLADELPHIA, PA.- Ben Farina, Head of Asian Arts at Freeman’s expressed delight about his curated Asian Arts auction held on 14 October. Farina commented “We had a number of wonderful pieces from various regional collections, and we’ve greatly enjoyed working with the consignors to bring this material to auction.”

The 256-lot sale witnessed competitive bidding between international buyers which pushed sale prices far higher than their pre-sale estimates. On the heels of remarkable sales earlier in the year—including a $2.3M result for an Imperial Chinese vase—Freeman’s Asian Arts department continues to bring fresh-to-market works to serious collectors of Asian art and cultural artifacts.

STRONG SALES EXCEED ESTIMATES

Following spirited bidding wars, several lots achieved results that soared well above their pre-sale estimates. A Chinese handscroll of eight works depicting One Hundred Auspicious Subjects from the Chinese School, 19th century or earlier, sold for $113,400 (Lot 91; estimate: $8,000-12,000) after garnering significant buyer interest. A Chinese faux bronze porcelain shell-form coupe achieved $50,400, a remarkable 33 times its pre-sale high estimate (Lot 27; estimate: $1,000-1,500), and a Chinese flambé-glazed hu-form vase sold for more than ten times its pre-sale estimate to achieve $21,420 (Lot 36; estimate: $1,500-2,000).

RARE CHINESE WORKS PERFORM WELL

Leading Thursday’s auction was the $378,000 sale of an important Imperial pale celadon-white jade seal (Lot 107), which confirms the strength of Freeman’s Asian Arts department in securing consignments of deep cultural significance and facilitating excellent results on clients’ behalf. The exceedingly rare seal is one of approximately twenty “Taishang Huangdi” seals commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor of China, a jade connoisseur, upon his retirement in the late 18th century.

Another lot, a fine and rare large Chinese blue and white porcelain Ming-style meiping vase—an unusual and exceptional work—achieved $50,400 after multiple competing bids between buyers (Lot 242; estimate: $40,000-60,000).

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: BUDDHIST FIGURES

Though the majority of the highlights of Asian Arts were Chinese in origin, several Buddhist sculptures from throughout Southeast Asia elicited significant buyer interest; one, a Nepalese gilt copper alloy figure of Vasudhara, achieved $47,250 (Lot 171; estimate: $12,000-15,000). A Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Akshobhya likewise sparked a bidding war, selling for $30,240, more than four times its pre-sale high estimate (Lot 254; estimate: $5,000-7,000), and a small Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Manjusri more than doubled its pre-sale high estimate to achieve $7,560 (Lot 256; estimate: $2,000-3,000).