The Bernat Ding 'Partridge Feather' Bowl, a Highly Important Ding Russett-Splashed Black-Glazed Conical Bowl, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)
SALES TOTAL USD $56,581,500 / HK$441,783,723
80% SOLD BY LOT | 87% SOLD BY VALUE
CHRISTIE’S SELLS TOP LOTS FOR SIX CATEGORIES ACROSS ASIAN ART WEEK
REGISTERED BIDDERS FROM OVER 25 COUNTRIES | FIVE CONTINENTS
New York – Christie’s Asian Art Week sales realized USD $56,581,500 (£40,113,379 / €45,783,476 / HK$ 441,783,723) surpassing initial estimates. The six auctions took place from March 20-23 with 80% sold by lot and 87% sold by value. Across the 519 lots sold, 48.7% achieved above the high estimate. Deep bidding was witnessed from Greater China across all categories and there was active participation from registered bidders across more than 25 countries with representation from five continents. Across Asian Art Week, Christie’s claimed the top selling lots for Chinese ceramics, textiles, jades, furniture, South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art, and Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art. See attached for full list.
The top lot of the sales week was a masterpiece by Syed Haider Raza, Tapovan, painted in 1972, which realized $4,452,500, setting a new world auction record for a modern Indian artist. The auction of South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art achieved the highest sale total for the category this season and established a new artist record for a modern Indian artist, and an additional record set for contemporary artist Ranjani Shettar, who is currently showing an installation at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Strong results were achieved for The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics - The Linyushanren Collection, Part III, which doubled its low estimate, totaling $12,832,750, with 98% sold by lot and 100% sold by value. The top lot of the collection was The Bernat Ding ‘Partridge Feather’ Bowl, A Highly Important Ding Russet-Splashed Black-Glazed Conical Bowl dating from the Northern Song dynasty, which realized $4,212,500.
Additional Asian Art Week highlights included A Large and Important Silver-Inlaid Gilt Bronze Figure of Buddha, Shakyamuni, Tibet, circa 1400, which was the highest price achieved for the category for the week selling for three times the low estimate for $3,612,500; A Rare and Exceptional Celadon-Glazed Relief-Decorated Bottle Vase, Qianlong seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), which realized $1,212,500; a Song-Yuan dynasty handscroll of Sixteen Arhats,which realized $852,500; and the selection of dinner menus by Zhang Daqian from the collection of Min Chi Hsu, the artist’s private chef from 1977-1979, which collectively totaled $1,168,750.
Tina Zonars, Chairman of Asian Art, Christie’s, comments: “The strong sell-through rates and prices-realized this season reinforce the stability of the market and the global demand across all collecting categories of Chinese works of art and Chinese painting. Exceptional prices were achieved for Song dynasty ceramics as well as Qing imperial porcelains, jades, textiles, and classical Chinese furniture, demonstrating the expansion of the market and its sophisticated buying audience. There was robust participation across all auction channels with deep bidding witnessed from Greater China proving the continued success of Christie’s strategy in the region.”
Deepanjana Klein, International Head of Classical and Contemporary Indian and South Asian Art, remarks: “This was an incredibly strong season for Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art spanning Classical to the Modern and Contemporary. The South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art sale was a landmark auction, setting a new category record with Raza’s seminal Tapovan selling for $4.4 million. It was gratifying to see the price achieved by the impressive Silver-Inlaid Gilt Bronze Figure of Buddha, which sold for $3.6 million, more than three-times its low estimate. The strong prices realized this week reinforce the market’s strength and the growing global appetite for masterpieces across both categories.”
