OAKLAND, CALIF. — Three Chinese lots combined for $442,800 at Clars Auction Gallery’s August 8-9 sale. Leading the group was “Red Leaves and Bird,” an ink and color on paper measuring 13¾ by 32 inches by Chinese artist Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), that sold for $172,200. The work, seen top, appeared in five publications on the artist, which lent to its strength.
Rick Unruh, chief executive officer and president at Clars, exclaimed, “Our August sale was quite strong — led by our Asian art department with several pieces selling in the six figures. There were several highlights across the board, with the many online buyers bidding on our ClarsLive platform.”
Rising to $159,900 on a $20,000 high estimate was a pair of famille rose ruby-ground “Medallion” bowls with DaoGuang six-character mark. The bowls came with carved stands and their boxes and measured 2.6 inches high and 5.87 inches diameter. The lot was pursued by a number of international phone bidders.
A Chinese blue and white “Lotus” vase would rise to $110,700. The vase rose to 14.43 inches high and was inscribed with the Qian Long six-character seal mark to the base. The auction house described the design as “decorated around the belly with a continuous frieze of flower blossoms, between pendant ruyi heads and lappets, the curved neck accentuated with upright plantain leaves below a wave band at the mouth.”
The bowls, the vase and a number of other pieces in the sale were consigned by Kobijutsu KenShuDo of the Japanese Osaka Estate Antique Company.
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