Sotheby’s kicked off Asia Week New York on September 15 with their “innovative concept sale” dedicated to monochrome works. The auction, which offered pieces spanning both traditional and modern Chinese art, focused on the purity of color and silhouette in Chinese art objects.With estimates ranging from $2,500 to $200,000, the auction offered collectors the opportunity to acquire traditional monochrome wares, including tea ceremony ceramics from the Song dynasty, huanghuali furniture, ink paintings, and contemporary ceramics from the 20th century.Leading the sale was a rare hexagonal celadon-glazed vase with a Yongzheng seal. The vase, a reinterpretation of a bronze “hu” form first developed by craftsman working at the Guan kilns, more than tripled its $200,000 high estimate to take in a final price of $706,000.In line with the growing demand for huanghuali furniture, three pieces secured top prices: A huanghuali Yokeback armchair from the 17th century, and from a private New York collection, sold for $125,000 (est. $70-90,0000); a huanghuali continuous Yokeback armchair from the 17th century achieved $125,000 (est. $70-90,000); and a huanghuali and Burlwood corner leg side table from the 17th to 18th centuries (Tiaozhuo) secured $118,750 (est. $30-50,000).“Landscript,” a 2002 ink painting on Nepalese paper by calligraphy artist Xu Bing, sold for $212,500 (est. $100-150,000). Other calligraphy works included Lü Shoukun’s modern ink Zen painting from 1972, which took in $50,000 within its $40,000-to-$60,000 estimate; and Qui Zhijie’s undated hanging scrolls “Two Poems,” which matched its $15,000 high estimate.Although Sotheby’s took a new approach to peak the interest of buyers during this fall’s Asia Week, the house found buyers for only 67 percent of lots offered, realizing a less than superb sales total of $3,161,000.
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