Richmond Hill, ON – 888 Auctions concluded its first auction of the year January 12th, featuring sales of fine Chinese Paintings & Asian Works of Art with a triumphant total of $717,180. The sale, comprising 598 lots, witnessed robust participation from around the world.
With 96% of the painting lots sold, collectors bid enthusiastically for works by Zhang Daqian and Li Kuchan in the Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy category. In the Classical Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy category, the 49 lots achieved $537,090 alone and well above the pre-sale high estimate of $259,200.
Estimated at $100,000-200,000, the featured lot of the sale was unquestionably Zhang Daqian’s Wuxia Mountain Clear Autumn 1936 with exceptional provenance. In a saleroom filled to capacity and eagerly awaiting the action to ensue, bidders in the room, on the telephone, and the internet competed fiercely for Zhang Daqian’s watercolour painting. Starting at $5,000, the bidding for lot 38 kicked off at a feverish pace. After a protracted battle between an international telephone bidder and a local floor bidder, the local floor bidder emerged victorious after 64 bids with a winning bid of $504,000, bringing thunderous applause from the crowd seated in the gallery. In addition to the spectacular sale of Lot 38, a Li Kuchan (1898-1984) watercolour painting achieved $11,400 at lot 37.
From the collection of Chinese ceramics, lot 447 garnered a great deal of interest. This large and imposing Chinese square hu-shaped vase and decorated in rare Gutoncai enamelling, realized $19,200.
In light of the high prices achieved in the Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy category, the collection of porcelains did not perform up to par. Whether the performance of the ceramics was because of the saturation of ceramics in the Asian art market remain to be seen; however, it is clear that collectors around the world are thirsting for authentic high quality items with exceptional provenance. And the numbers do not lie; high quality items with an estimate of over $10,000 nearly doubled the estimate across all categories of art in this sale.
With a sell-through rate of over 50%, connoisseurs of Chinese art have realized they do not need to pay an arm and a leg for an authentic piece of Chinese art and antique at 888 Auctions.
For consignment inquiries or additional information, please contact 888 Auctions at 905.763.7201 or by email at [email protected]. For detailed post-auction results and hammer prices, please visit us at www.888auctions.com.