Qiu Ying’s Riding in Suburb of Autumn, catalogued in Imperial Qing dynasty document Shiqu Baoji (also known as the Precious Collection of the Stone Moat), is undoubtedly the focal point of Tokyo Chuo Auction this fall. The painting that created by Qiu Ying, a painter from Ming dynasty, was hammered down at JPY240m (US$2,191,440), far exceeding its estimate of JPY45m-55m (US$410,895 – 502,205).
Riding in Suburb of Autumn is the centre of attention at the evening sale of Important Chinese Art, and was put in an eye-catching area for public viewing. Some collectors and connoisseurs even came all the way to the auction only for this painting. The room was already full of people before the bidding started. It started at JPY40m (US$365343) with a bid increment of JPY1m (US$9133) and soon rose to JPY65m after the intense bidding among four telephone bidders.
All of a sudden, a man in the room joined the war and pushed the price to JPY70m. Such move drove three telephone bidders away, leaving only one telephone bidder still staying in the bidding war. The telephone bidder seemed a bit hesitant in offering higher bid while the man in the room was quick and ambitious, making a bid increment of JPY3m-5m.
The bidding went back and forth between the two bidders. When it soared to JPY100m, unexpectedly, the man in the room decided to let go. The auctioneer was on the verge of hammering down but a new telephone bidder suddenly made a higher bid of JPY110m.
The bidder stopped at the price JPY130m. Just when everybody thought the painting was going to be sold to the first telephone bidder, there was a twist – another man sitting in the front row in the room made his first bidding of JPY140m, competing against the telephone bidder who had been staying in the bidding war from the very beginning.
When the bid reached JPY150m, the bid increment increased to JPY10m. The boisterous atmosphere seemed to be cooled down a little bit but there was no sign of ceasing even when the price rose to JPY200m. The bidding war lasted for almost 20 minutes and the painting was finally knocked down at JPY240m, followed by a round of applause in the room. The winner was the man sitting in the front row and the telephone bidder was defeated.
Riding in Suburb of Autumn was catalogued in Imperial Qing dynasty document Shiqu Baoji (also known as the Precious Collection of the Stone Moat), with seals marked on it. The painting depicts a beautiful scenery of riding in a suburb of autumn and it was notable for the excellent painting skills used by Qiu Ying.
Qiu Ying (1494-1552)’s Riding in Suburb of Autumn. Handscroll. ink and colour on paper.
Lot no.: 0022
Provenance: Imperial Household Department from Qing Dynasty
Estimate: JPY 45,000,000 - 55,000,000
Hammer price: JPY 240,000,000
Auction details
Auction house: Tokyo Chuo Auction
Sale: Important Chinese Art – Evening Sale
No. of lots: 63
Previewing: 2017/9/1 - 2|10am - 6pm
Auction time: 2017/9/2|6pm