Chinese Art Trilogy At Christie's Earns $20 Million

NEW YORK CITY

:With three sales devoted to Chinese art, Christie's Rockefeller Center saleroom became the beating heart of this market segment for a day on March 29. The sales - important Chinese snuff bottles from the J&J collection, Part III; the collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall; and fine Chinese ceramics and works of art - proved that Chinese art is all the rage, with Western and Eastern buyers eagerly looking for the best and most beautiful.

With an overall total of $20,079,660, the Chinese sales marked a record series for Christie's in New York in the field.

The day started with the third part of the J&J collection of snuff bottles, which was 99 percent sold by value and totaled $3.7 million, topping many presale estimates in the process.

Michael Bass, specialist, Chinese art department, said, "For the third time in a row, the J&J collection of Chinese snuff bottles scored high on the board of international collectors."

"This exquisite collection, so passionately and patiently founded by Li Ti-Tsun, a distinguished educator and Chinese ambassador, and later continued by his family, never ceases to amaze and intrigue the crème de la crème of snuff bottle collectors worldwide. The results of the sale were spectacular, with a mainly international, private clientele vying for these subtle works of Chinese craftsmanship."

Top lot in the sale was a black and white jade snuff bottle, 1750-1830, which went to a US private buyer for $374,400. An enameled double gourd shaped porcelain snuff bottle, 1740-1756, also found a new US owner, selling for $352,000.

Rounding out the top ten lots in this sale were a Beijing enamel snuff bottle, 1736-1770, $352,000; a famille rose enameled double gourd shaped glass snuff bottle, 1736-1780, $329,600; an Imperial Yixing stoneware snuff bottle, 1780-1799, $284,800; a Beijing enamel "European Subject:" snuff bottle, 1736-1760, $240,000; an inside-painted crystal snuff bottle, 1760-1915, $120,000; a famille rose enameled clear glass snuff bottle, 1760-1780, $102,000; a carved white and russet jade bear-form snuff bottle, 1740-1820, $72,000; and a carved yellow glass snuff bottle, imperial, 1725-1800, $60,000.

The collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall immediately followed and kept riding the same high waves. The collection was 100 percent sold and realized $5.5 million, tripling its presale estimate.

Commented Theow Tow, deputy chairman, Christie's Americas and Asia, and Athena Zonars, head of the Chinese art department, "The single-owner sale presenting the collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall offered a glimpse into a very refined and traditional way of collecting, and revealed a collecting couple touched by a wide range of interests and a limitless energy to search for the best."

"Literally every single piece in this well-known collection, fresh to the market, was highly sought-after. The room and surrounding corridors were filled with clients and the bidding activity - masterfully led by Christie's honorary chairman Christopher Burge - was heated, both on the floor and on the phones.

Highlights were many, the most spectacular of which was the fabulous blue and white pear-shaped vase, Qianlong, which went for a staggering $1.14 million. The sale saw strong East Asian activity, including from Mainland Chinese clients."

Two other highlights of the sale were a pair of Ming-style blue and white Meiping, Qianlong (1736-1795), which went to an Asian private buyer for $755,200, and a celadon-glazed archaistic relief-decorated flask, Qianlong (1736-1795), which was purchased by Eskenazi Ltd for $744,000.

Rounding out the sale's top ten lots were a large blue and white molded ovoid vase, Yongzheng (1723-1735), $553,600; a famille rose ruby-ground Tibetan-style ritual ewer, Penba Hu, Qianlong (1736-1795), $307,200; a famille rose Tibetan-style ritual ewer, Penba Hu, Qianlong (1736-1795), $262,400; a large blue and white dish, Yongzheng (1723-1735), $174,000; a famille verte squirrel and grapevine dish, Kangxi Period (1662-1722), $168,000; a Ming-style blue and white pear--shaped ewer, Jiaqing (1796-1820), $132,000; and a Ming-style and white ewer, Jiaqing (1796-1820), $132,000.

The afternoon session, devoted to the fine Chinese ceramics and works of art sale, saw continuous high prices, culminating in $2 million for a blue and white Fourteenth Century vase, Yuan dynasty. The sale totaled $10.9 million and was 78 percent sold by value.

"A superbly wide range of collecting areas was presented in the sale of fine Chinese ceramics and works of art, resulting in extremely strong interest from many different types of collectors," said Tow and Zonars. "There was a clearly noticeable participation from Mainland Chinese clients and several of the highlights of the sale were eagerly pursued by both Eastern as well as Western bidders."

Besides the Fourteenth Century vase, other remarkable lots in the sale were a wooden Han horse, which reached $419,200, and an elegant huanghuali Luohan bed with openwork railings, which fetched $408,000.

Rounding out the sale's top ten lots were a rhinoceros horn raft-form pouring vessel, late Ming dynasty, Seventeenth Century, $340,800; large imperial silk brocade thanka (1403-1425), $329,600; a Nineteenth Century hardwood throne, $307,200; a Jun-type pear-shaped vase (1723-1735), $284,800; a pair of sancai-glazed pottery figures of bactrian camels, Tang dynasty, (618-907), $262,400; a blue and white moonflask, Qianlong (1736-1795), $216,000; and a Fourteenth Century molded blue and white stem cup, late Yuan/Early Ming dynasty, $216,000.

Prices reported include buyer's premium. For information, 212-636-2000 or www.Christies.com.