In New York, the first of the Asia Week sales began trickling in last night, but the big surprise came from Philadelphia-based Freeman's Auctions. While not officially part of Asia Week, the auction house holds its biannual Asian art sale in conjunction with the Big Apple's week-long event — and in these days of record prices for all things Chinese it is no stranger to bidding wars leading to record prices. Last September, a small jade seal fetched $3.5 million on an estimate of $30,000-50,000. On Saturday there was a similar result for a Ming Dynasty gilt-bronze and cloisonné-covered jar.
Estimated to sell for $10,000-15,000, the jar was scooped up for $1.5 million by a Chinese bidder in the room. At one point, according to the auction house, there were a dozen bidders vying for the enormous jar (which is 21.5 in tall and 16.5 in wide). The full sale brought in $4.5 million for Freeman's, inclusive of buyer's premium.
Meanwhile at Sotheby's, it was a very different story. The top two lots at the Southeast Asian modern and contemporary sale were bought-in as the auction struggled to gain momentum. Far and away the top-estimated lot was the semi-abtstract landscape "Village with Church" (1958) by Indian painter S.H. Raza (pictured in part on the top left). Valued at $1.5-2.5 million by the auction house, the much-touted work was nicknamed the "Rockefeller Raza" because of its longtime place in the collection of John D. Rockefeller III. This clever bit of marketing, however, did not help it to find a buyer. Instead, the top lot was M.F. Husain's 1965 dark and distorted portrait of his biochemist friend Dr. A Rahman "Untitled (Scientist)," which hammered down at $242,500 (estimate $200,000-300,000).
At the East 87th Street headquarters of Doyle's, the Asian art sale offered quite a few surprises. Perhaps the most outlandish was the Chinese white jade boat, which is described as carrying three passengers sitting atop a wood stand carved to resemble breaking waves, and sold together with a group of celadon jade peacock figurines. It sold for well over 100 times its paltry $700-900 estimate, taking a whopping $122,500. In the same type of explosive action, a Chinese acrylic snuff bottle estimated at $200-300 went for $46,875. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the auction's top estimated lots, a Ming-style blue-and-white porcelain bowl went unsold (est. $250,000-350,000).
Finally, the Bonhams Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan sale ended late Monday after the cover lot, a portrait of the Indian ruler Rawat Gokal Das celebrating the Hindu spring festival Holi (dated 1808), by early 19th century artist Bagta was sold for $302,500 — ten times the $30,000 low estimate. The auction as a whole brought in $3.2 million.
Asian art auctions in New York continue all day Tuesday at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. For a full schedule, click here.
This post originally appeared on Shane Ferro's art market blog, Above The Estimate.