Unprecedented times of the pandemic are stabilising. Auction sales are gradually going back to normal. 

Asian Art Week of Sotheby's New York is back, and will take place from 17 to 29 September. There is a total of five sales – two live and three online auctions. 

It will showcase artworks from different categories of Asian art, ranging from Himalayan sculptures, Indian and Southeast Asian art, gold-round porcelain altar vessels, jade, bronzes, sculptures and ceramics. These objects were once owned by key collectors, namely Rockefeller Family Collection, Simon F. Rothschild, Giuseppe Eskenazi and Yanamata Trading Company Ltd. 

Here is an overview of the sales, together with the highlight lots:

Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art (Live Sale)

This auction features fine Buddhist sculptures. For example, a Tibetan copper alloy figure of Manjushri Bodhisattva from the 12th-13th century (representing transcendent wisdom). Another example is a grey schist figure of a Bodhisattva from Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan) from circa 1st to 5th century CE.

A Tibetan Mahakala thangka on blue silk is another highlight object.

Important Chinese Art (Live Sale)

One of this season’s highlights is the gold-ground famille-rose five-piece altar set (wu gong). There is also a group of important ritual bronzes and sculptures from American collector, Barry L. MacLean. Other key objects originate from key collectors, namely Rockefeller Family Collection, Yamamata Trading Company Ltd. and Giuseppe Eskenazi. 

Junkunc: Chinese Art (Online Auction)

Stephen Junkunc III was one of the most important collectors of the 20th century. Born in Budapest, Hungary circa 1905 and then travelled to Chicago, United States. Junkunc was manager and co-owner alongside his dad in the tool making company called General Machinery and Manufacturing Company. He started collecting Chinese art in the 1930s, and amassed an extensive collection of 2,000 objects including Chinese porcelain, jade, bronzes, paintings and Asian Buddhist sculptures. 

Dayton Collection: Asian Art (Online Auction)

American businessman Bruce Dayton and his wife, Ruth Stricker Dayton, have a large collection of Asian artworks. Inspired by his wife, Bruce Dayton became an avid collector of Chinese art. The collection includes Chinese paintings and calligraphy, ceramics, bronzes and furniture. He also contributed to Minneapolis Institute of Art with more than 2,000 artworks.

The Hundred Antiques: Fine and Decorative Asian Art (Online Auction)

There are more than 200 Chinese ceramics, porcelains, bronzes, jade, furniture, sculptures and other works of art included in this sale. Highlight include porcelains, for example, from the Chinese Republic period (c. 1912-1949) collected by Simon F. Rothschild (1861-1936). 

Copper alloy figure of Manjushri Bodhisattva | Central Tibet

Created in 12th – 13th century
Sale: Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art
Estimate: US$400,000 – 600,000

Figure of a Bodhisattva | Gandhara, grey schist

Created in circa 1st to 5th century CE
Sale: Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art
Estimate: US$250,000 – 350,000

Gold-ground famille-rose five piece altar set (wu gong)  

Created during Qianlong Emperor period (r. 1735-1796)
Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$600,000 – 800,000

Archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (hu)

Created in late Shang dynasty (c. 1130-1018 BCE)
Provenance:

• Hans Georg Oeder (1880-1938), Collection   
• Sotheby’s London Auction Sale, 19 June 1984, Lot 8
• Giuseppe Eskenazi, London
• The Bella and PP Chiu Collection of Ancient Chinese Bronzes
• Sotheby’s London Auction Sale, 7 June 2000, Lot 5

Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$400,000 – 600,000

Pair of Archaic Bronze Ritual Food Vessels (ding), with inscriptions in mirror image

Created in late Shang dynasty (c. 1130-1018 BCE)
Provenance:

• Private Collection.
• Christie's New York, 22nd March 1999, lot 188.

Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$200,000 – 300,000

Celadon jade ‘twin fish’ basin with a poem composed by Qianlong Emperor

Created during Qianlong Emperor period (r. 1735-1796)
Provenance:

• Private Collection, China
• Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, 11-12 January 1949, Lot 312
• Dr. Abraham Block (1903-1980), Collection

Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$200,000 – 300,000

Molded lemon-yellow enameled ‘lotus’ dish

Yongzheng Imperial kilns
Created in Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$80,000 – 120,000

Imperially inscribed blue and white ‘Mount Hui Temple’ teapot and cover

Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$80,000 – 120,000

Dipankara Buddha gilt-bronze figure

Created during Kangxi Emperor period (r. 1661-1722)
Provenance:

• Richard A. Bourne Company, Massachusetts, US, January 10 1981
• Trocadero, Kenny & Higgins Asian Art, Inc., Washington D.C., US, January 1982

Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$250,000 – 350,000

Orthodox blue and white vase with entwined branches and lotus pattern

Created during Xuande Emperor period (r. 1425-1435)
Provenance:

• Rockefeller Family Collection

Sale: Important Chinese Art
Estimate: US$150,000 – 250,000