LONDON.- Sotheby’s biannual sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art brought a total of £12.3 million /$19.8 million / €14.4 million, within estimate. Headlining the sale was a large ‘famille rose’ ‘landscape’ dish, Yongzheng mark. The elaborately enamelled dish sold after a dramatic four-way telephone bidding battle, for £1,049,250 / $1.2 million/ €1.7 million. Decorated in blue, green, turquoise and sepia enamels, the dish’s interior depicts a landscape with cliffs and a craggy mountain range shaded by pine trees.
Stephen Loakes Sotheby’s London’s Acting Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art said: “We have experienced an extraordinary level of interest from our clients worldwide and with our auction coinciding with Asian Art week in London, bidding today from our packed saleroom and over the telephones was extremely competitive. In particular, we were delighted with the demand for works from Sir Peter Moore’s collection from Parbold Hall. We are witnessing a real appetite for exceptional pieces priced appropriately and as the market for fine Chinese ceramics and works of art continues to mature, buyers are becoming increasingly selective.”
Other highlights from today’s sale included:
* A superb gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel tiger water pot of Qianlong mark and period from the collection of Sir Peter Moores at Parbold Hall in Lancashire. A battle between seven bidders on the telephone and in the saleroom drove the final price to £825,250 / $1.3 million / €966,530, nearly three times its high estimate of £200,000-£300,000.
* A hexagonal ‘Jun’-type flower pot, early Ming dynasty, which sold for £735,650 / $1,182,999 / €268,497, 10-times its high estimate of £50,000-70,000 / $77,500-109,000.
* Amongst the Imperial monochromes offered from the collection of Richard Fairfax William Cartwright (1903-1954) at Aynhoe Park, a pair of rubyglazed cups of Yongzheng marks and period reached £373,250 / $600,223 / €437,149, against an estimate of £60,000-80,000 / $93,000-124,000 / (fivetimes their high estimate).
* A fine white jade ‘Boy and Lotus’ group made £229,250 / $368,657 /€268,497, 19-times its low estimate of £8,000-12,000 / $12,400-18,680.
