Bringing $6,000 and the sale’s highest price, was this Chinese enameled yellow bottle vase with a Guangxi Qing dynasty mark. It stood more than 15 inches tall and was decorated with bats and floral designs.
Review & Onsite Photos by Rick Russack; Photos Courtesy Kaminski Auctions
BEVERLY, MASS. — It was all Asian at Kaminski Auction’s October 14 sale. Many items came from the personal collections of the late James S. Dolph, a well-known dealer in Chinese and Japanese decorative arts. Antiques and The Arts Weekly has frequently illustrated his booths at antiques shows where he was a willing teacher. While the strength of the sale was in Chinese and Japanese porcelains, there were numerous pieces of carved jade, Japanese Meiji metalware, a sizeable collection of tsuba (sword guards), swords and other sword hardware, snuff bottles, game counters, some carved hardwood furniture, carved soapstone, netsukes and even some cricket cages.
The highlight of the day was a Chinese enameled yellow ground bottle vase with a Guangxi Qing dynasty mark (1875-1908); it finished at $6,000. Kaminski’s online catalogs are well illustrated and there were nine photos, including close-ups, for this vase. Finishing in second place was a large Qing dynasty moon flask, molded on each side with a reverse painted lotus flower. It had a blue and white Qianlong (1736-1795) seal mark on the base and brought $3,900. A Chinese blue and white porcelain brush pot, finely inscribed in underglaze blue with a long poem, followed by a copper-red square seal with a blue and white Qing Kangxi reign mark earned $1,200. Finishing well above the estimate was a small Chinese Ge-glazed three-footed porcelain water pot covered with a pale gray celadon glaze and an overall crackle pattern. It also had a blue and white Qing dynasty Qianlong seal mark and reached $3,600.
The Chinese offerings included more than porcelains. A bronze figure of a Buddha seated cross-legged on a lotus flower, lacquered and gilt on bronze and dating to the later Ming dynasty, earned $1,560. A Chinese watercolor painting on paper of a bamboo plant, signed Dong Shouping (1904-1997) sold for $1,320. A simple Nineteenth Century white jade snuff bottle, one of many in the sale, earned $720. As mentioned, a lot with three bamboo cricket cages sold for $120.
Some of the Satsuma and some Chinese porcelain on display during the preview.
Satsuma porcelains led the selection of Japanese offerings. Worthy of close-up examination, and leading the Japanese offerings, was a 12-inch-tall Meiji period Satsuma moon jar with multiple, detailed cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, other flowers and more than a dozen equally well-done birds of differing species. It sold for $1,800, three times higher than the estimate. An auction lot with four Satsuma items, including a 5-inch bowl and a vase with a dragon shaped spout, decorated with flower and lappet borders, brought $1,560, also well above the estimate.
An unusual Meiji period cloisonne bowl, showing two dragons on a midnight-black surface reached $570. A Meiji period lacquered box decorated with a falconer in bone and with mother-of-pearl appliqued designs on a gold lacquered cover flew to $330. A small Meiji period silver box with a mixed metal lid with gold and silver inlay was topped off at $390.
There were numerous lots of Japanese swords and sword hardware: tsuba and other items. These were from the Dolph collection. An Eighteenth Century tsuba, with a Shibuichi finish on a copper plate with a silver moon shining through clouds led the selection, finishing at $420. Many of the others sold in the $200 price range. An early Twentieth Century sword with a lacquered wood sheath, 41 inches long, sold for $300. There were also some lots with multiple kozuka, which the Metropolitan Museum of Art website informs us is “a handle of a by-knife that is part of a sword mounting.” A lot of six — three pairs with dragons and other designs — sold for $420.
There were numerous pieces of Satsuma, some of which were sold in small lots. The most popular lot with bidders was this 12-inch-tall Meiji period moon jar with multiple detailed cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, other flowers and more than a dozen equally well-done birds in a variety of species. It sold for $1,800, three times more than the estimate.
Auctions of Asian antiques and works of art are not new to Kaminski, who has conducted Asian-only sales in the past, when he has the consigned material to support them. As a matter of fact, the third highest priced work he’s ever sold was a 29-inch-tall giltwood Buddha that sold in his April 1, 2023, auction for $540,000. Kaminski recalls, “It came from the basement of a home in West Palm Beach, Fla., where it had been for many years. Its owner was unaware of the value and when I was picking up other items for our sale, I asked if there was anything in the basement. I was told to take a look if I wanted to, and there it was. I knew it was wonderful and we agreed to add it to the list of other items consigned. It turned out to be better than I thought it was and brought much more than we estimated it at. It’s a wonderful piece and will be going to a Buddhist temple in Shanghai with the support of the Chinese government. I’m especially proud of having sold it as it’s the third highest priced item I’ve ever sold. There were four active phone lines and there was a guy in the gallery who kept yelling for me to sell it to him, first at $200,000, then at $300,000.”
For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.
