The 2022 New York Spring Asia Week, which has just come to an end, from popularity to purchasing power, reflects the positive optimism of market confidence and sufficient funds.
This season's Asian Art Week is the first Asian art feast after the beginning of the year, gathering the attention of Asian art lovers around the world, with the three major auction houses achieving a total of US$112.8 million (about 716 million yuan).
17 lots exceeded $1 million, an increase of 41.6% over the same period last year.
Christie's total turnover was 67.9 million (RMB 427 million), with a turnover rate of nearly 83%.
Sotheby's grossed $33.8 million.
Bonhams successfully obtained a turnover of 11.128 million US dollars.
Active purchasing power and abundant "raw goods"
Judging from the transaction status, the auction house has a reasonable pre-judgment on the market, whether it is on-site buyers or online buyers are actively involved, and most of the treasures have found new collectors.
Liu Yue, a well-known porcelain expert, said: "The market purchasing power of this year's art week is quite active, especially the bronzes with inscriptions, which are all participated in by Asian collectors, and many mid-range lots have been auctioned at high prices. This year's Art Week has seen some new buyers come in, who are not too careful about the quality of their works, and the lots with obvious flaws have also been sold at high prices. ”
For the emphasis of art weeks, major auction houses have set up some important collectors' special sessions to attract buyers to bid. For example, Dr. Wu Quan from Sotheby's, Mr. Hu Huichun collection from Christie's, and Pastor Feriz's Collection of Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from Bonhams. These collections are the painstaking accumulation of important collectors for decades, and these "raw goods" appear in the auction market, which is also the positive prediction of collectors and auction houses in the market and the confidence of buyers.
The first battle report of the art market in 2022
This season Christie's launched 7 auctions, including 5 offline and 2 online auctions, with a total turnover of 67.9 million (RMB 427 million) and a turnover rate of nearly 83%. Whether it is from the number of lots or the total turnover, Christie's occupies an absolute advantage.
Christie's New York Asia Week Million Dollar Lot (March 2022)
Its high-priced lots range from bronzes, Buddha statues, modern and contemporary art to classical furniture and porcelain, covering a wide range of fine products.
Auction site of Christie's "South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art Collections of Mahinder and Salad Tucker" at Christie's new York
Christie's "South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art Collection of Mahinder and Salad Tucker" sold a total of US$20,188,926 (about 128.6 million yuan), with a turnover rate of 96%, and many younger generations of American and South Asian collectors continue to enter the market, and in recent years, new auction records have been born.
Leading the auction was Indian painter Bhupen Khakhar (1934-2003) 'S banyan trees ' $ 2.46 million . India's finest abstract painter, Vasudeo S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), won the second highest price for $2.34 million. Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002) still life sold for $2.16 million as the third highest price in the market.
In addition, artists such as Guran Mohammed Sheikh, Manjit Bawa, Said Haider Raza, Apita Singh, Katinger Krishna Hebal and other artists performed brilliantly and set new personal auctions.
Buben Haqel, "The Banyan Tree"
Estimate: $1,800,000 –2,500,000 USD
Price realised: 2,460,000 USD
The third highest price in the artist's individual auction
Christie's New York, March 23, 2022
Vassudio Gaytone de Untitled
Estimate: 2,000,000 – 3,000,000 USD
Price realised: 2,340,000 USD
Francis Newton Suzza, Still Life, 1958
Estimate: 400,000 – 600,000 USD
Price realised: 2,160,000 USD
The "Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Craft Boutique" special session is mainly Buddhist artworks, with more than 90 pieces of fine art winning a total turnover of US$3731,490 (about 23.767 million yuan), with a turnover rate of 79.4%. The Jura Dynasty South India Black Sky Bronze Dance Statue ranked first in the special session with a transaction of $693,000. This work is prominent, once in the rockefeller old collection, and then appeared twice in important auctions. The cover lot, a 15th-century gilded bronze seated statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva in central Tibet, sold for $415,800, in second place, and is typical of the Himalayan statues in Tibet. The bronze statue of SAMBANDAR came in third with $315,000.
Twelfth century Jura Dynasty Bronze Dance Statue of the Black Sky in Southern India
Height 39.4 cm
source:
1. Spink & Son Ltd, London, 1959
2. Rockefeller Collection, New York, August 1959
3. Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, 3 May 1977, Lot 7
4. William H. Wolff, Inc., New York, October 23, 1985
5. Robert and Bernice Dickes Collection, New Jersey
6. Carlton Rochell Asian Art, New York, March 22, 2010
7.The Maitri Collection of Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art; Bonhams, New York, 20 March 2018, Lot 3231
Price realized: $693,000
The cover lot for this special sale is a 15th-century gilded bronze seated statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva in central Tibet, which sold for $415,800, ranking second. This beautiful buddha statue with a slender body and turquoise inlays is typical of the Himalayan statues in Tibet.
Central Tibet
Fifteenth century
Gilded bronze seated statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva
Height 50 cm.
Price realized: $415,800
The "Important Porcelain and Craft Boutique Special" won a total turnover of more than 197 million yuan, with a turnover rate of 83.76%, and a total of 30 million yuan lots and 37 million yuan lots were born. Warring States Bronze Feast Hunting Land and Water Attack Pattern Square Pot started from $300,000, and after 58 bids, it finally fell for $2.25 million and sold for $2.76 million, ranking first in the special auction and the most expensive lot at Asia Week in New York this season.
The source is prominent, once lu Qinzhai old collection, Loglin handed over the Dali gilded bronze Guanyin statue for 2.1 million US dollars, sold for 2.58 million US dollars, ranking second in the special session. Made of giant monolithic boards, the 17th century Huanghuali head case was dropped with a hammer of 1.7 million US dollars and a commission of 2.1 million US dollars, ranking third in the special session.
Lot 719 Warring States Bronze Feast Hunting Land and Water Attack Pattern Square Pot Height: 43 cm
Estimate: $400,000 to $600,000
Price: $2.76 million
Lot 748 Late 11th to early 12th century Dali gilded bronze statue of Guanyin
Height: 57.1 cm
Estimate: $2,000,000 to $3,000,000
Price: $2.58 million
Lot 1016 17th century Huanghuali warp case
Dimensions: 95.9 x 309.9 x 47.6 cm
Estimate: $800,000 to $1,200,000
Price realised: $2.1 million
Sotheby's New York Asia Week
This season, Sotheby's set up a total of 3 live auctions and an online auction. High-priced lots are distributed in modern and contemporary art, bronze, porcelain and jade.
Sotheby's New York Asia Week Million Dollar Lot (2022.3)
In recent years, modern and contemporary art has performed prominently, and this season's Art Week's South Asian modern and contemporary art is no exception, with a turnover rate of 94.5%, and 2 lots of more than one million US dollars were born.
As a permanent session of Sotheby's, the "Chinese Art Treasures" session covers more than 200 fine works in bronze, porcelain, jade and other categories. After on-site, online and telephone commissions, the three parties competed fiercely, and finally won a total turnover of US$13,653,892 (about 87 million yuan), with a turnover rate of 85.6%.
The cover lot of this special auction, Yu Ji's sub-group pot, lived up to expectations and sold for $2,107,000, which came out on top. The pot has been published as many as 37 times in the bibliography alone, and was treasured by the late Qing dynasty connoisseurs Wu Yun (1811-1883), Li Hongyi (1831-1885) and Zou An (1864-1940). In second place was the Ming Xuande Blue and White Cloud Dragon Ribbon, which fell for $1,000,000 and sold for $1,260,000. Qingqianlong Blue and white folded branches and fruit pattern plum vases were sold for US$844,200, ranking third in the market.
Lot 233 Western Weekend Late 9th or 8th century BC
Dimensions: Height 42.5 cm
Price realised: $2,107,000
Lot 253 Ming Xuande Blue and White Cloud Dragon Pattern "Daming Xuande Year System" section
Dimensions: diameter 26.5 cm
Price realised: $1,260,000
A total of 147 exquisite works were presented in the special session of "Art Gathering: Dr. Wu Quan's Collection of Treasures", covering bronze, porcelain, jade and other categories. After more than 6 hours of bidding, the total turnover of the special auction was 10,577,700 US dollars, and the turnover rate was 100%, and the white glove was successfully won.
Qingqianlong Qingyu carved CanagaBasa Venerable Shanzi
Height 31.9 cm
Mrs. Austin Collection
Ma tre Etienne Ader, Drouo Auction Center, Paris, 12 March 1962, no. 105
Collection of Dr. Wu Quan (1910-1997).
WuLianbo Museum, 1968-present, number M.7.16
publication:
Ke Rose et al., Chinese Antiquities from the Wou Kiuan Collection. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, Hong Kong, 2011, plate 177
Price realised: $1,071,000
At the scene, the Qingqianlong Qingyu Bronze Jade Carving Seventh Cana Gabasa Venerable Shanzi fell the hammer for $850,000, plus a commission of $1,070,000. In second place in this special session was Shang Mo AnYang Defang Yi, who fell the hammer for $700,000 and sold for $882,000. The Bronze Mistake Jinyang Ling Tiger Charm fell for $690,000 and sold for $869,400, ranking third in the special session. The biggest dark horse was the Western Weekend □ Father's Gui gai, which fell for $210,000 and sold for $264,600, a super-undervalued price of 5150%.
Sotheby's "Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art" in New York brings together important works of art from the late 19th, 20th and 21st centuries from all over South Asia, with a total of 9,559,430 US dollars (about 60.75 million yuan), a turnover rate of 94.5%, 2 over-million DOLLAR lots, and 56.9% of the lots sold at an overvalued price. Artists such as Uzhnah Hasheme, Armanas Schiger, and Mila Mukherjee set new personal auction records.
Leading the auction was Painting 4 by India's finest abstract painter, Vasudeo S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), which sold for $2.47 million. The second highest price in this special sale was the "Sheikh Shoe Store" sold for $1.381 million. The third highest price in the special was Jehangir Sabavala (1922 – 2011), an untitled piece created at an important stage of his career in 1977.
Vassudio Gaytonede's Painting 4
Estimate: 1,500,000 - 2,000,000 USD
Price realised: 2,470,000 USD
Sotheby's New York, March 21, 2022
Bonhams New York Asia Week
This season's Art Week, Bonhams held a total of seven auctions with a total turnover of $11.128 million. Dessa Goddard, Head of Asia At Bonhams USA and Chairman of Asia Week in New York, said: "This season's Bonhams Asian Art Auction has performed strongly, with rigorous selection of Some Chinese Artworks and many treasures exceeding the estimate. ”
In the special auction of "Art of India, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia", a 13th-century bronze-gilded and green Tara statue from the early Mala dynasty in Nepal sold for US$2,310,313 (about RMB14.5 million), four times the estimated value (US$500,000-700,000), and topped Bonhams's asian Art Week auction this season.
Early Mara Dynasty of Nepal Thirteenth-century bronze gilded Tara statue
Estimate: $500,000-700,000
Price realised: $2,310,313
The turnover rate of the "Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art" special session was 99%, and the top ten lots exceeded the overvalued transactions. Edward Wilkinson, Global Head of Art in India, Himalayas and Southeast Asia at Bonhams, said: "The bronze-gilded Tara statue was a delightful performance and the entire auction was lively. There are only a few examples of such meticulous elegance in Buddhist statues. Collectors around the world also knew the preciousness of this product, and enthusiastically bid for it, bidding for more than 1 million US dollars before falling into the hammer. ”
Qing Yongzheng Lemon yellow porcelain bowl a pair of "Great Qing Yongzheng Year System" model
Realized price: $200,313; estimate: $5,000-7,000
The special auction of "Chinese Calligraphy and Painting and Craftsmanship" was also very popular, and nine of the top ten lots were doubled at the estimated price. The Lemon Yellow Porcelain Bowl from one of the Qing Yongzheng periods, the "Great Qing Yongzheng Nian" model, sold for 40 times the estimated value of $200,313, and the proceeds will be donated to three charities, Guide Dogs for the Blind, San Rafael and The Panda Fund. The Chinese furniture section, led by the 18th-century Huanghuali Stripe, sold for $212,813, seven times the estimated value ($30,000-$50,000). Most of The Milhender's nine-piece lot also far exceeded the estimate, with an eighteenth-century aquafolia bottle-shaped animal foot chair being acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for $75,313.
Other auction highlights include the sale of Zhang Daqian's "Lady Holding Flowers" for $870,313 and Utagawa Kuniyoshi's "Old Soma Castle" for $150,313.
Zhang Daqian's "Lady Holding Flowers" colored paper vertical axis 1948
Price realised: $870,313
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, "Soma Old Castle", Edo period, circa 1844
Price realised: $150,313
New collectors are on the rise in the running admissions
Judging from this season's Asia Week in New York, the following characteristics are presented:
Telling a good story is something that auction houses are keen on in recent years. For collections with stories and temperatures, they tend to attract more attention.
In addition, making good use of the celebrity effect and highlighting the transmission and feelings of the collection through the old collections of famous artists is also one of the strategies of auction houses.
The diversity of artworks is also a feature of Asia Art Week, and auction houses have different pairings for each special event, taking into account the different interests and hobbies of buyers. Liu Yue said: "The auction house strives to meet the tastes of buyers in different regions through diversification by cleverly matching the high-ancient bronzes that are good at launching in New York with the Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain and court royal plays loved by Chinese buyers. ”
"Hunger marketing" is a phenomenon in the antique market during this time period. After entering 2022, looking for high-quality and cost-effective "raw goods", The Asia Week in New York in March is undoubtedly the most critical time.
The entry of new collectors is undoubtedly a positive market signal, and traditional art is attracting a group of financially powerful enthusiasts to participate. Their active bidding has led to high prices for some low-valued collections, and has also caught some connoisseurs off guard. Obviously, these new collectors have a lot to practice and learn, and they are quick to make a name for the collection they are interested in and have the strength to buy, and they have come to the fore on the international stage.