The Fifth Annual ART FOR TIBET Online Auction – 12-15 May 2014

Art for Tibet is a wonderful opportunity to give Students for a Free Tibet your financial support and for you to receive something even better in return, thanks to the 75+ artists who generously donated their artwork to help us work toward our mission. 

Qing dynasty Marichi figure auctions for $254,500 at Bonhams

paulfrasercollectibles.com
19 Sept 2013

A Qing dynasty figure of the Buddhist deity Marichi has sold as top lot inBonhams‘ Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art auction, which was held in New York on September 18.

Gilt Buddhist figures are hot property on the market, with many selling with huge increaes on estimate

 

The piece, made from gilt copper alloy and dating to the 18th century, represents the bodhisattiva Marichi, who is associated with light and the sun in Chinese Buddhism. It sold for $254,500.

The sale was dominated by similar Buddhist figures from across Asia, which have been selling extremely well at auction recently.

On September 16, a gilt bronze example from China’s Yongle period made a 333.3% increase on estimate to lead Bonhams’ Chinese Art from the Scholar’s Studio sale.

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Own a piece of Buddhist history

Business Standard
September 8, 2013

The author checks out the fare at the ongoing Sotheby’s auction

This September the spotlight is firmly on Asian art with exhibitions and auctions showcasing exceptional works from the region being held across the world. One such event – ‘Footsteps of the Buddha: masterworks from across the Buddhist World‘ – happens to be the first selling exhibition of Buddhist art by Sotheby’s in more than a decade. Selling exhibitions like this one allow the auction house greater flexibility in curating the artworks and more freedom in exploring a particular area or period in depth. “Such shows have been well received by collectors who are looking at acquiring pieces through private sales, in addition to the auction,” says Henry Howard-Sneyd, vice-chairman, Asian Art, Sotheby’s. Thirty-one pieces, which include sculptures, paintings and figurines from India, Japan, China, Korea and Tibet, trace the historical development of Buddhist art as it travelled across the length and breadth of Asia from the 2nd century through the 21st century. “For each period, we sought a piece that was among the finest of its type in private hands,” says Sneyd.

A major highlight is the 2nd/3rd century grey schist standing Bodhisattva in the Gandhara style. “It reflects the Graeco-Roman influence from Alexander the Great who colonised the region in the 4th century BC,” says Jacqueline Dennis, specialist (Indian and Southeast Asian Art department), Sotheby’s. The Gandhara school of art was born from this legacy of Hellenism – a mix of East and West.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong unveils superb collections of Chinese art from Japan [Auction: 8 October 2013]

ArtDaily

Sotheby’s Nicolas Chow presents Tang-dynasty dry lacquer head of Buddha from the collection of Sakamoto Goro. Photo: Sotheby’s.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong announced its Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Autumn Sale Series 2013 taking place on 8 October 2013 at Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. In celebration of Sotheby’s 40th anniversary in Asia, the sale is curated to encompass a wide range of extraordinary and fresh-to the-market objects with illustrious provenances. The selection is led by two superb collections of Chinese art from Japan, Chinese Art Through The Eye Of Sakamoto Goro and Imperial Qing Porcelain – A Kyoto Collection, that have remained unseen for more than half a century. The series will also highlight the single-lot sale, The Cunliffe Musk-Mallow Palace Bowl as well as an extraordinary set of seals used by the Qianlong emperor before he ascended the throne. Altogether the series comprising five sales will offer over 400 lots with an estimated total value of over HK$750 million / US$96 million*.

Asian decorative arts on the auction block in June [2013] at Bonhams in San Francisco

Lot 8359: A lacquered bronze figure of Buddha Ming dynasty. Estimate:
US$ 10,000 – 15,000.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Following close at the heels of the smash success of the decorative Asian sale held this past March, Bonhams announces its Asian Decorative Arts auction in San Francisco on Tuesday, June 25. The auction will take place just a day after the firm’s fine sale of Asian art, and will be sure to attract both Bonhams’ veteran clients and newcomers to the Asian art world alike.

Asian art auctions at Koller Zurich to offer a number of top quality Buddhist figures

Art Daily
Thursday, April 18, 2013

ZURICH.- On 7 and 8 May Koller will offer at auction a number of top quality Buddhist figures from long-standing private collections and numerous works of art from Japan, India, South East Asia and the Islamic regions. The top lot is a large Tibetan figure of Buddha Shakyamuni with an estimated value of CHF 400 000 / 600 000.

[Lankan] Buddhist doorstep fetches £500k at auction

New Scotsman
By CLAIRE HAYNURST
24/04/2013 00:11

A DOORSTEP gathering moss outside a couple’s home, which was identified as a rare Buddhist heirloom, has sold for more than £500,000 at auction.

Bronwyn Hickmott spent ten years trying to persuade auction houses, television antique shows and stone masons that the granite artefact was “something special”. But they turned her away until a local Bonhams expert examined the stone outside Mrs Hickmott’s home in Exeter, Devon.

Chinese art’s hefty ticket back home

China Daily
By Derek Bosko in New York
2013-03-29

Prospective Chinese buyers inspect an antique snuff bottle at Jadestone’s “From Curiosity to Devotion” sales exhibit in New York. Derek Bosko / China Daily

A late-Shang dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC) bronze tripod jue gets passed down by generations of an American family, losing two of its legs as well as the awe it once inspired, only to find its way on a plane back to China legs in tow and re-attached.

“People don’t realize they have a 3,000-year-old Chinese bronze vessel that they are using as a door stop or a dog’s water bowl,” said Erick Schiess, owner of Jadestone Fine Asian Art, Appraisal & Consulting LLC, a Portland, Oregon-based dealer of highly sought Asian art. Jadestone exhibited in New York during Asia Week, on March 15-23, which was a celebration of Asian art by museums, auction houses and cultural institutions.

Asian art sales in New York exceed expectations

By Chris Michaud
NEW YORK | Mon Mar 25, 2013

(Reuters) – A week of Asian art auctions exceeded expectations as Christie’s and Sotheby’s together sold more than $130 million worth of contemporary and Chinese art, rare bronzes, furniture and antiquities at their semi-annual Asia week sales.

The four days of auctions last week were estimated to result in sales of between $75 million and $105 million, but competitive bidding on several pieces drove up prices to many times higher than their pre-sale estimates.

New York Asian art auctions span bronze antiquities to contemporary art

Reuters
By Chris Michaud
NEW YORK | Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:59am IST

(Reuters) – Rare bronzes, contemporary masterpieces, museum-quality furniture and antiquities dating back more than 3,000 years are among thousands of art objects hitting the auction block in New York next week during Christie’s and Sotheby’s Asia week sales.

The four days of auctions, estimated to take in anywhere from $74 million to $106 million, begin on Tuesday with Sotheby’s sales of contemporary Indian art and Chinese ceramics and art, and Christie’s Indian and Southeast Asian sale, which includes some of its higher-priced works.

The semi-annual sales of Asian works of art have become an important driver in the global market, with strong activity in recent years. But a recent report found art spending by Chinese collectors fell 24 percent last year because of slowing economic growth and a lack of availability of top-quality works.