MARLBOROUGH, MASS.- Skinner Auctioneers will host two concurrent Asian Works of Art auctions during March 2022. Coinciding with Asia Week in New York, these two auctions will offer a refined selection of jade pieces, rare ceramics of Song to Qing periods, a broad range of brilliant famille rose, enchanting paintings and rare Buddhist stone sculptures. With one auction hosted online, from March 14, 2022 12 p.m to March 24, 2022 07 p.m., and one hosted live on March 23, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. in its Marlborough galleries, the sales offer the public multiple options to bid.
Skinner will also host an in-person preview during Asia Week of Jim Dixon's famed antique carpet collection. Highlighting a selection of notable pieces, the preview will serve as a kickoff event to Skinner’s exceptional series of spring auctions dedicated to Dixon's passion-led collection. Comprising hundreds of items, Dixon's extraordinary collection is considered one of the most important in America.
Among the highlights at the in-person sale are exciting offerings in Chinese ceramics. Possibly dating from the Northern Song dynasty, a purple-splashed Jun bowl (est. $200,000-$300,000) is “a centuries-old marvel containing a modern abstract painting,” says Suhyung Kim, Asian art director at Skinner. A pair of iron red dragon bowls (est. $3,000-$5,000) boasts a technical finesse that corroborates the Qianlong emperor to be the most demanding patron of Chinese ceramics. Its details used on the dragons against a white ground filled with waves in sgraffito are “simply awe-inspiring,” according to the director.
A collection of rare Buddhist sculptures from the collection of artist Karl Stirner span the breadth of Asia, with a highlight being an early Indian example of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha calling the earth to witness, with exquisitely carved details on the lotus throne (est. $3,000-$5,000). A Chinese Ming dynasty head of Guanyin exudes serenity and compassion, with traces of colorful pigment still visible in the overall patination (est. $500-$700). Also rare is a Korean Buddhist wood figure of dongja (est. $12,000-$20,000) from a renowned Korean art patron.
The timed, online auction focuses on the delightfully spring appropriate florals of Chinese famille rose ceramics, including a pair of bowls decorated with continuous peony motifs (est. $400-$600), a delicately decorated cup (est. $300-$500), vases of varying shapes and sizes and even a pair of lanterns (est. $600-$1,200). Bidders can also find many hidden gems from selections of Chinese jades and textiles, Chinese and Japanese bronzes and furniture, and antiques and antiquities from across Asia.
