Christie's New York is going to hold its first ever auction which uses the High Value Lot Paddle – "Important Chinese Art from The Fujita Museum" at Asian Art Week. This sale has 31 lots only, yet includes many great artifacts, along with elegant boxes which Japanese used for storage. Among all lots, the most noteworthy ones are Shang Dynasty bronzes and Chinese paintings.

Shang dynasty lasted for around 600 years, and the art of bronze production reached its zenith during late Shang at Anyang, which is known as Yinxu period. In this auction, there are bronzes which were created during this period. These bronzes are contemporaneous to the ones unearthed from the tomb of Fu Hao, one of the wives of King Wu Ding. The aesthetic level and quality of the former are no worse than the latter, which suggests that the former could be King's bronzes. Among the bronzes produced during the Yinxu period, the Gong is exceptionally charming for its thoroughly fascinating ram shape and dazzling motifs. This kind of fully sculptural animal form vessels is very rare in Shang bronzes. The pou is also an extraordinary piece, which was very well casted with a massive size.

Since the Palace Museum held the special exhibition of "Shiqu Baoji" to celebrate its 90th anniversary, people got to know this catalogue of the Qing dynasty imperial collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy during the Qianlong period. This time, six paintings which are catalogued in "Shiqu Baoji" are to be auctioned in this sale, the most significant one is undoubtedly "Six Dragons" painted by Chen Rong (1200-1266). This painter of the Southern Song Dynasty is best known for his depictions of dragons, excelled at wet ink and dark tones, and the "Six Dragons" is publicly acknowledged as a masterpiece in “Shiqu Baoji”. The other 5 paintings are from the Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties, like "Treaty of Bianqiao" painted by Li Gonglin (1049-1106), and "Horse" painted by Han Gan (706-783).

Remaining lots include Longquan celadons, Buddhist sculptures and art of scholars.

 

Sale Details

Auction House: Christie's New York
Sale: Important Chinese Art from The Fujita Museum
Sale No.: 14319
No. of Lot: 31
Viewing: 2017/3/10-15 10am-5pm
2017/3/12 1pm-5pm
Sale Time: 2017/3/15 7pm

 

Highlights:

A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE BRONZE RITUAL RAM-FORM WINE VESSEL, GONG LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Lot No.: 526
Height: 22cm
Estimate: US$6,000,000 – 8,000,000

A MAGNIFICENT AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL AND COVER, FANGLEI LATE SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Lot No.: 524
Height: 63.5cm
Estimate: US$5,000,000 – 8,000,000

AN EXTREMELY RARE MASSIVE BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL AND COVER, POU LATE SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC

Lot No.: 525
Height: 57.2cm
Estimate: US$4,000,000 – 6,000,000

CHEN RONG (13TH CENTURY) AS CATALOGUED IN SHIQU BAOJI, Six Dragons

Lot No.: 507
Painting Size: 34.3 x 440.4cm
Estimate: US$1,200,000 – 1,800,000

LI GONGLIN (1049-1106) AS CATALOGUED IN SHIQU BAOJI, Treaty of Bianqiao

Lot No.: 508
Painting Size: 26.4 x 895.4cm
Estimate: US$800,000 – 1,000,000

HAN GAN (706-783) AS CATALOGUED IN SHIQU BAOJI, Horse

Lot No.: 509
Painting Size: 31.9 x 38.4cm
Estimate: US$500,000 – 700,000

A LONGQUAN CELADON CARVED JAR AND COVER YUAN DYNASTY, 14TH CENTURY

Lot No.: 502
Height: 32.4cm
Estimate: US$100,000 – 150,000

A SET OF TEN IMPERIAL  'STONE DRUM SCRIPT'  INK CAKES WITH FITTED BOX AND COVER QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Lot No.: 516
Wooden Box Size: 30.5 x 15.9cm
Estimate: US$50,000 – 70,000

A RARE AND IMPORTANT DATED MARBLE BUDDHIST TRIAD NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY (AD 386-534), DATED SECOND YEAR OF XIAOCHANG, CORRESPONDING TO AD 526

Lot No.: 529
Height: 60.6cm
Estimate: US$600,000 – 800,000