Auction Report

Post Auctions
Bonhams
Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian, New York
March 19

Bonhams had put Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian items from lot 1001 to lot 1243 for sale. Lot 1097, a gilt copper alloy figure Syamatara Tibet, 14th century was sold for the highest price of US$ 482,500. Also known as Green Tara, the saviouress from all suffering is seated in ardhaparyankasana on a double lotus base with one leg resting on a lotus socle, the other knee bent and laid flat on the pedestal with the foot lying against the opposite thigh. Each hand holds the stem of a padma (lotus), with the bloom resting at the shoulders, the right hand held in the gesture of varada mudra and the left in vitarka mudra. Her hair, falling in tresses across her shoulders and down her back, is also gathered in a topknot behind a five-leaf crown inlaid with turquoise and glass beads. Her serene face is painted with downcast eyes and red lips, an inset turquoise stone urna marking her forehead. Sized 18 in. (45.7 cm.) high. The next high priced item was lot 1211, Rawat Gokal Das celebrating holi in the zenana Signed Bagta, Devgarh, dated 1808, it was sold for US$ 302,500.

Asian Art, Edinburgh
March 22

310 lots were sold out of 412 lots. The highest price went to lot 160, an enamelled white metal (Chinese silver) tea service Circa 1900, A melon-shaped teapot with bamboo handle, spout and finial, decorated with raised enamelled prunus, peony, chrysanthemum, irises, roses and bamboo, bearing Pohsing makers stamp, 12cm high, weight 20.26oz, together with matching cream and sugar bowl, 9cm high, weight 9.35oz and 8.3oz. It was sold for £43, 250. The next high price went to lot 260, a fine and large famille rose punch bowl Circa 1800. It was sold for £9, 375.

Christie's
Christie’s Interiors- Masters & Makers, London, South Kensington
March 6

hristie’s Interiors had offered 520 lots for sale including furniture and lighting, paintings, prints and watercolour, rugs and carpets, sculptures and other items. 342 lots were sold for a total of 926,187 (GBP). The highest price went to lot 239 a large French or Flemish carved oak throne 16th century and later, with gothic tracery detail throughout and boldly carved lions to each arm, the high-back with twin pointed arch panels and coat-of-arms, the box-seat with hinged lid flanked by projecting columns, 87½ in. (222 cm.) high; 32 in. (82 cm.) wide; 21 in. (53 cm.) deep. It was sold for £25,000. The next high priced item was lot 143, a massive oak refectory table late 19th century, probably Italian, The three-plank top on three elm or walnut twin-pillar supports, 32 in. (81 cm.) high; 229 in. (571 cm.) long; 29½ in. (75 cm.) deep; top 2¾ in. (7 cm.) thick. It was sold for £20,000.

South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art, 20 Rockefellar Plaza, New York
March 21

Lots from 501-624 were put up for sale in the South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction at Christie’s. The highest price went to lot 529, Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009), Untitled (Figures with Bull Head), oil on canvas, 59 X 41 3/8 in. (149.9 x 105 cm.), painted in 1984. It was sold for $1,762,500. The next high price went to lot 547, Akbar Padamsee (B. 1928), Cityscape, signed and dated 'Padamsee 59' (upper right), oil and plastic emulsion on board, 44¼ x 137 in. (112.4 x 348 cm), executed in 1959. It was sold for $1,314,500.




Sotheby’s
Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art, New York
March 21

The Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art auction by Sotheby’s had offered diverse group of Indian miniatures gathered from a number of private American collections. Totaling 35 works, this was the most eclectic selection of miniature paintings offered in a New York sale over the past decade. The total sale amount (including buyers premium) was 3,804,727 USD. The highest price went to lot 291, Standing Vishnu, Gilt copper, Nepal. It was sold for 590,500 USD. The next high priced item was lot lot 249, Uma, Polished brown sandstone Khmer, Baphuon period. It was sold for 530,500 USD.






Forthcoming
Sotheby’s
Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, Hong Kong
April 2

174 lots (Lots 201- 375) will be put up for Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings auction. The highest price is expected to be lot 328, Walter Spies, Waringin Mit Jungen Baliern, (Banyan with Two Young Balinese) Signed, Oil on Canvas, 74 by 58 cm, 29 by 22 3/4 in. executed in 1927. Its estimated price is 6,500,000- 11,500,000 HKD. The next high price item is lot 311, Juan Luna, En el Paco (In the Theater Box). Its estimated price is 3,000,000 - 5,000,000 HKD.






Arts of the Islamic World, London
April 25

Sotheby’s auction of Arts of the Islamic World will offer for sale a wide array of pieces produced across the globe, in countries under Muslim rule, over a period of more than twelve centuries. Particularly noteworthy are the artistic achievements of the ottomans, as witnessed in a number of beautiful Qur’an manuscripts and calligraphies included in the sale, as well as a fine example of ottoman weaponry, a shamshir and scabbard with silver-gilt mounts set with turquoise and gold-inlaid jade panels, from early seventeenth-century Turkey. From further east comes another fabulous example of seventeenth century arms and armour, in the form of a Persian dagger with gold-inlaid ottoman jade hilt and Safavid watered-steel blade, signed by Faizallah Shushtari Isfahani, the Safavid metalworker commissioned by Shah Sultan Hussain (r.1694-1722) to make cut-steel door plaques for the Shrine of imam reza in Mashhad. The achievements of the Arabs of Muslim Spain, al-Andalus, are represented by a lustre pottery dish from the fifteenth century. The highest price is expected to be a magnificent dagger with ottoman gold-inlaid jade hilt and safavid watered-steel blade signed by Faizallah Shushtari Isfahani, Persia, 17th century. The estimated price for the item is £400,000 – 600,000. The next high price is expected to be a rare and important ottoman parade sabre and scabbard with silver-gilt mounts set with turquoise and gold-inlaid jade panels, Turkey, first half 17th century. Its estimated price is 350,000 – 600,000 GBP.


Christie’s
Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art Part I, Dubai
April 17


41 lots of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art will be put up for sale. The highest price is expected to be lot 21, Ahmed Alsoudani (Iraqi, b. 1975), Untitled, signed in Arabic, signed and dated twice 'Soudani 08 08' (on the reverse), oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas, sized 82 7/8 x 72 1/8in. (210.6 x 183cm.), executed in 2008. Its estimated price is $300,000 - $500,000. The next high priced item is expected to be lot 7, Mahmoud Saïd (Egyptian, 1897-1964), Le Port de Beyrouth, Mahmoud Saïd, 23 5/8 x 27½in. (60 x 70cm.) oil on canvas, painted in 1954. Its estimated price is $250,000 - $300,000.