Sotheby’s March 20 Chinese ceramics and works of art sale was led by two rare famille rose “Heaven and Earth” revolving brushpots with Qianlong seal marks and dated to the period. Carrying estimates of $120/150,000 and $80/120,000, the brushpots brought a combined total of $3.5 million.
There were also exceptional prices for jades, archaic bronzes, furniture and furniture among other areas of the sale, which was more than 70 percent sold. Overall, the auction totaled $20,709,776.
Henry Howard-Sneyd, vice chairman, Asian art and one of the day’s auctioneers, commented: “This outstanding total of $20.7 million showed that collectors are prepared to fight for objects with rarity and good provenance when offered at conservative estimates.”
Howard-Sneyd also said he was delighted with the results of the firm’s week of Asian art auctions, which exceeded the high estimate by more than $20 million, to bring an overall total of $61.8 million.
A full review of the sales will appear in an upcoming issue.
WD
