Among top results of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ March 20 Asian Works of Art sale was a scroll painting with the signature of Qi Baishi, which sold for $269,000 to an Eastern Chinese buyer. Following record-breaking sales during New York’s Asia Week, the March auction showed strong results across all media and time periods that demonstrate the return to buoyant buying by Greater China as witnessed industry-wide over 2016. Collectors from mainland China, Taiwan, Canada, the U.S. West Coast and the United Kingdom dominated participation in the March sale and pushed top lots, that included paintings, porcelain and jade, well past high estimates.
Another scroll painting, Galloping Horse, was attributed to Xu Beihong and sold for $125,000 to a private collector in California. A second Xu Beihong attribution, also depicting a horse, sold for $68,750 to the trade in China. These scrolls, along with the Qi Baishi, came from the Estate of Mr. Julius Wei Wu Xue, Kenilworth, Illinois. These paintings were fresh to the market, which along with their provenance contributed to phenomenal results.
An additional scroll painting from a private Chicago collector that performed well was Shang Rui’s Yun He Tan Quan (Springs Exploration on Cloudy Gully), which sold for $75,000 to a dealer in China. A landscape painting with the signature of Yan Wengui sold for $42,500 to an anonymous Canadian collector.
The sale included two Peking glass vases, one a Qianlong period example of squat form that sold for $106,250. The second example in a baluster form sold for $35,000. Both sold to buyers in California. Porcelain also performed well and included a blue and white bowl that sold for $35,000 to an anonymous Chinese buyer.
Two cinnabar lacquer boxes from the collection of a lady, Newport Beach, California, brought a combined $47,500. One box was square and sold for $25,000; the other was circular and sold for $22,500. Both went to the same Taiwanese buyer.
The competitive global bidding led to many lots selling well over estimates to buyers bidding online, on the phone and in Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Chicago saleroom. Over 250 bidders participated throughout the sale on bidding platforms LHLive and Bidsquare. Additional results can be found at lesliehindman.com. The Asian Works of Arts department is currently seeking consignments for their next sale, September 25, 2017. They can be reached at 312.280.1212.
