Two Chinese paintings, titled ‘Red Peony’ and ‘White Peony’, were each sold for a price far outstripping pre-sale estimate at Bonhams’ Chinese Works of Art and Paintings in New York, fetching US$348,500 and US$262,500 respectively. Whereas a Celadon-Glazed Double-Gourd Vase also made it to the top three by realizing US$275,000, more than four times its estimate.

Leading the sale was Yu Feian’s 1947 ‘Red Peony’, estimated at US$25,000 - 40,000, sold for US$348,500 (buyer’s premium included), more than 13 times pre-sale estimate. And a similar example that Yu Feian painted in a year later, ‘White Peony’, sold for US$262, 500, 10 times its estimate of US$25,000 - 40,000. What caused the difference in prices fetched by these two paintings sharing the same subject, and created by the same hand.

Such difference could be attributed to mainly two reasons. Firstly, the colours used. Peony, a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in China, better matches with the colour red, which also viewed as an auspicious colour connoting happiness and luck in China. Secondly, looking at the composition of these two paintings, there is a high chance that they were intended to go on display together in a pair. For collectors who wanted to acquire the paintings in a pair, instead of buying either one of them separately, would lose their interest in ‘White Peony’ after learning its ‘twin’ painting was sold to someone else.

Yu Feian

Yu Feian (1889 - 1959) was a Chinese painter best known for his Gongbi paintings (meaning ‘meticulous brush craftsmanship’ in Chinese), which involve careful realist technique.

Another highlight was a Celadon-Glazed Double-Gourd Vase, Qianlong Seal Mark and of the Period. Estimated at US$60,000 - 90,000, this vase sold for US$275,000, more than four times its estimate. The vase is elegantly potted with a double-gourd shape, narrow waist between the slightly compressed globular lower bulb and smaller upper bulb. It is covered overall with a pale sea-green glaze thining to white at the rim, with a matching cover.

Top three lots

Yu Feian. Red Peony
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper

Lot no.: 8228
Created in: 1948
Size: 95.5 x 50.8 cm
Provenance:
Acquired in Beijing prior to 1949 by US Foreign Service Officer
Estimate: US$25,000 - 40,000
Price realized: US$348,500

A Celadon-Glazed Double-Gourd Vase
Qianlong Seal Mark and of the Period

Lot no.: 8047
Height: 31.7cm
Provenance:
Gift of Mrs. Eliot A Carter, 1991
Estimate: US$60,000 - 90,000
Price realized: US$275,000

Yu Feian. White Peony
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper

Lot no.: 8229
Created in: 1948
Size: 94.9 x 50.8 cm
Provenance:
Acquired in Beijing prior to 1949 by US Foreign Service Officer
Estimate: US$25,000 - 40,000
Price realized: US$262,500

Auction summary
Auction house: Bonhams New York
Sale: Chinese Works of Art and Paintings
Sale date: 2018/3/19