BOSTON, MASS.- A small collection of Chinese ceramics achieved big prices at Skinner’s spring auction of Asian Works of Art on March 19 in Boston. Consigned by descendants of well-known Massachusetts collectors Dudley L. Pickman (1779-1846), a founding member of the East India Marine Society (forerunner of today’s Peabody Essex Museum), and Charles G. Loring (1828-1902), the first Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the twenty-four ceramic lots on offer brought a total of $1.237 million, far exceeding presale estimates.

Pickman/Loring Collection
Highlights from the collection included a Junyao Tea Bowl with a delicate pale blue glaze suffused with purple splashes, (Lot 200), which sold for $315,000 (all prices include buyer’s premium); a 19th century Sang de Boeuf Beehive Water Coupe (Lot 214) which realized $255,000; a Blue and White Bowl decorated with exquisitely depicted dragons and phoenixes, symbols of the imperial family, (Lot 217, $104,550); and the top lot of the sale, a Sky Blue-glazed Bottle Vase with six-character Qianlong mark in underglaze blue on the base which achieved $411,000.

Other Auction Highlights
Other important pieces with strong provenance also performed well. Lot 9D, a 13th/14th century Turquoise and Black Kashan Plate from the collection of Marion E. James (1918-2015), professor emerita of the University of New Hampshire, brought $20,910, well above estimate; a Double-sided Twelve-panel Coromandel Screen dating to the Kang'xi period (1662-1722)depicting the tale of the Peach festival (Lot 523), purchased from the C.T. Loo collection, New York, and , and descended in thefamily of André Carlhian (1883-1968), sold for $58,425; and a Pair of Blue and Green Covered Dragon Jars, possibly Daoguang period (Lot 313), descended through the family of Ames Nowell of Massachusetts, soared to $195,000.

Lot 69, a rare and excellent example of a Qianlong period Cloisonné Ice Chest with polychrome decoration of fruits, insects and flowers, achieved $49,200, while the highlight within a strong selection of textiles was a Chestnut Embroidered Silk Formal Court Dragon Robe (Lot 409), which brought $12,300. At $135,000, a Jade-inset Ruyi Scepter (Lot 159) from a Palm Beach, Florida estate was the top-selling jade in the auction.

Upcoming Auction and Prices Realized
Skinner’s next Asian Works of Art auction in Boston is planned for mid-September, 2016, to coincide with the annual Fall Asia Week celebration of Asian art in New York.