NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s two sales of Asian Art in New York this spring totaled $7,231,440, within expectations (est. $6.7/9.8 million).

Indian & Southeast Asian Art – March 18, 2009
Sotheby’s auction of Indian & Southeast Asian Art, which included paintings and works of art, totaled $3,212,501, well within estimates (est. $2.8/4.1 million). Modern paintings accounted for the top eight lots, led by M. F. Husain’s Untitled (Two Women), which sold for $374,500 (est. $150/200,000), followed by F. N. Souza’s Untitled, bringing $302,500 (est. $100/200,000) and Akbar Padamsee’s Untitled (Nude) which achieved $242,500 (est. $200/300,000).

Zara Porter Hill, Director, Head of Sotheby’s Indian & Southeast Asian department, said: “Our strategy for this sale was to put together a tightly edited group of the finest works available, sagely estimated, and we were delighted to see the market respond so positively. It was especially encouraging that 100% of the top ten lots were bought by, or for, established collectors, highlighting the strength at the top end of the market. There was solid interest in 18th-19th century Tibetan paintings, a trend which was initiated by the Jucker sale held at Sotheby’s in March 2006. There is also strong demand for early works of art, rare, good-quality miniature paintings, and for established post-war Modern artists. Clearly auctions containing such works continue to attract top-level interest.”

Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art – March 17, 2009 Sotheby’s sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art brought $4,018,939, above the low estimate (est. $3.9/5.6 million), and highlighted superb ceramics from the collection of Gordon Getty: A rare pair of ‘Famille-Rose’ ‘Eight Daoist Immortals’ jars and covers, Qianlong iron-red seal marks and period, which sold for $632,500 (est. $300/400,000) and a rare ‘Famille-Rose’ ‘Boys at Play’ lantern-shaped vase, also Qianlong iron-red seal mark and period, which achieved $602,500 (est. $300/500,000). Other highlights included the large painting of Eight Beauties by Hua Xuan, circa 1736, which brought $374,500 (est. $200/300,000), and The Conquests of the Emperor Qianlong, a set of sixteen engravings and eighteen panels of calligraphy, that reached $164,500, more than four times its high estimate (est. $30/40,000).

Commenting on the sale, Dr. Caroline Schulten, Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art Sales, North America said: “We are very pleased with the results of today’s sale, which demonstrate that in times like these there is demand for rare and high quality works of art with good provenance. We were thrilled to see such strong competition for 18th century Imperial mark and period porcelain, as evidenced by the high prices achieved for the Getty vases and other of today’s top lots, along with the competitive bidding for the set of engravings, sending it to six times its high estimate. Overall, we were encouraged by the number of new buyers competing for many of our top lots.”