This Turkish Ottoman sword dated 1807 was the top lot, slicing through its $1,5/2,500 estimate to achieve $31,750.
SUDBURY, MASS. — Tremont Auctions’ annual fall Asian arts and antiques sale on December 8 was successful in achieving strong prices for a variety of Asian antiques and decorative arts, with some items significantly exceeding their estimated value if they were rare or in superb condition. The auction house has a strong expertise in the Asian art market, especially with Asian specialist James Callahan at the helm. Callahan has a prodigious Rolodex of trade and private sources and always gets a good selection of items across different periods and regions. This particular sale featured choice pieces from an old Boston collection among the 505 lots offered. Chinese porcelain vases from this collection achieved significantly higher prices than their estimated value, with strong buyer interest.
The sale, called by principal Brett Downer, totaled $385,825 with a sell-through rate around 80 percent, a little softer than usual, according to co-owner Matt Buckley. There were 162 successful buyers and about 30 live in the audience.
Leading it all was a Turkish Ottoman sword dated 1807, which sliced through its $1,5/2,500 estimate to achieve $31,750. Featuring a wavy watered steel inlaid with a gold inscription and jade hilt, the weapon was further inlaid with Ottoman trophies in gold. It measured 36½ inches long and the blade inscription, deciphered and translated by researchers at the Erevan Institute of Archaeology, read “To the pilgrim [to Jerusalem, a hajji, in effect] Melkon Agha the son of Amir Gaspar, for virtuous use. 1256 AD 1807.” It sold to a private European collector known to Tremont.
An old Boston collection surfaced in an estate cleanout, contributing this large Chinese Kangxi blue and white porcelain jar/vase. With allover phoenix and floral decoration, it stood 24 inches high by 17½ inches wide. It rose to $25,400 against a $1,5/2,000 estimate.
The overall sale offered a diverse selection of Asian art, including Chinese, Japanese and Indian examples, with porcelains, jade carvings, bronze works, paintings, textiles and more.
The old Boston collection contributed a large Chinese Kangxi blue and white porcelain jar or vase. With allover phoenix and floral decoration, it stood 24 inches high and was 17½ inches wide. Its condition reported two tight hairlines on the rim; still, it rose to $25,400 against a $1,5/2,000 estimate. “This collection was from a couple of fellows who do cleanouts and know that we do well with Asian things. So, they brought them by and they were very good things,” said Buckley.
A similarly strong performance was witnessed when a collection of approximately 40 Chinese antique coins crossed the block. Estimated just $300/500, it outperformed at $15,860.
A loss of objects in its hand and a sword that was bent at its tip caused a Chinese gilt bronze figure of Manjushri Namasangiti from the Yung Lo period (1402-1424) to miss its $20/30,000 estimate and finish at $12,200.
Faring better was a Buddhist icon from the Korean Koryo period (Fourteenth Century), which soared above its $800-$1,200 estimate, bringing $9,760. It depicted a standing guardian figure holding a sheathed sword. With an inscription upper right and framed under glass, it measured 57 by 35 inches.
This Korean Buddhist icon from the Fourteenth Century soared above its $800-$1,200 estimate, bringing $9,760.
More of the old Boston collection came to the fore with Chinese porcelain vases. A pair of baluster vases from the early Twentieth Century featured an underglaze blue decoration of the immortals. They stood 23 inches high and commanded $8,540.
A pair of Chinese Nineteenth or Twentieth Century examples with Hundred Deer decoration and deer-head handles took $7,930, leaping over an $800-$1,200 expectation. Each vase was 15½ inches high.
A Ming period (1368-1644) Chinese cloisonné ewer in monk’s hat form was richly decorated with Buddhist stylized lotus scrolls and the “eight precious symbols,” as noted in the catalog. With heavy gilding and double vajra on the base, the 9½-by-8-inch ewer from a local collector realized $7,320, multiplying its $800-$1,200 estimate.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. Tremont will offer a baseball collection in its next sale in January, with more Asian material coming in for a March sale. For information, 617-795-1678 or www.tremontauctions.com.
