NEW YORK, NY.- Doyle's successful Asian Works of Art auction on September 9 presented the arts of China, Japan and Southeast Asia dating from the Neolithic Period through the 20th century. Showcased were porcelains, jades, snuff bottles, bronzes, pottery, scholar’s objects and paintings from prominent collections and estates.
Highlighting the sale was a rare Ming-style Doucai vase with the Yongzheng six-character mark within double circles and of the Period (1723-1735) that achieved a stunning $387,000. Measuring 9 1/8 inches in height, the vase took several minutes to sell as determined bidders in the saleroom and on the telephones pushed the price higher and higher, generating a round of applause when it sold. The vase was decorated in Chenghua-style with an all-over design of Indian lotus bearing full formal blooms amid delicate curling stems and leaves.
An Imperial Tibetan gold woven brocade hanging of the 'Thousand Buddhas' from the Qianlong Period soared past its estimate of $10,000-15,000 to realize $46,875. Depicting the 'Thousand Buddhas' symbolically destined to redeem the world in successive generations, the impressive hanging measured 57 x 128 inches. By repute it was presented to the emperor Qianlong by the Dalai Lama of Tibet for the Lamaistic temple in Beijing.
The auction saw strong prices for Chinese jades highlighted by a 19th century white jade figure of a mythological qilin that fetched $37,500, far surpassing its estimate of $600-800. Property from the Estate of Elizabeth H. Fuller, the fearsome figure measured 4 inches in length.
From the Estate of an Upper East Side Collector were over 20 lots of carved Chinese jade objects, featuring a Qing dynasty celadon jade bowl carved as a delicate lotus blossom with seeds in relief around the rim that sold for $21,250, ten times its estimate of $1,500-2,500. The diminutive cup measured 2 inches in height.
The auction offered over 100 lots of Chinese snuff bottles highlighted by property from The Kaufman Collection and the Estate of Mary Ann Bresee. Works of art in miniature, the snuff bottles were crafted in a wide range of materials, including jade, agate, amethyst, enameled porcelain, glass, coral, cloisonne and lacquer. Property from the Estate of Mary Ann Bresee featured a Qing dynasty celadon jade snuff bottle carved as a bottle embraced by a standing figure and decorated with a bat, and an 18th/19th century pink tourmaline snuff bottle carved in relief with a pomegranate, each estimated at $700-1,000, and each realizing an exceptional $5,937.
