Sotheby's New York Sales of Asian Art Reach $113.4 Million To-Date in 2018 *Up 42.5% over 2017*

Top Lot of Asia Week in New York An Exceptional Tang Dynasty Bodhisattva Sold for $4.3 Million, Leading Works from the Fabled Junkunc Collection

Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy Sales Highlighted by a Master Landscape by Wang Yuanqi That Achieved $1.2 Million

SOTHEBY'S AUTUMN AUCTIONS IN HONG KON

NEW YORK, 18 September 2018 – Sotheby’s Asia Week sale series concluded this weekend in New York, with 750+ works spanning centuries of important Asian art sold across five auctions for a total of $33.9 million. Thus far in 2018, Sotheby's New York sales of Asian Art have reached $113.4 million – an impressive 42.5% increase over the same period last year. Below is a look at the magnificent works and collections that drove these results.

Christina Prescott-Walker, Division Director of Asian Art at Sotheby's New York, commented: "The market for Asian art, and Chinese art in particular, has remained extremely strong in New York throughout 2018. Sotheby's has had the honor of presenting works from a number of prestigious private collections this year, including those of the Chew Family, Jeffrey P. Stamen, Gerson and Judith Leiber, Jingyatang, Tang Hung and Fung Bi-Che, and Stephen Junkunc, III. Fresh-to the-market works emerging from such storied collections continue to be sought after by buyers internationally, and in particular those from mainland China – many of whom travel to New York to participate in our sales here. We look forward to our upcoming sales of Asian art that will highlight our autumn auction series in Hong Kong, and to our New York Asia Week sales in March 2019.”

JUNKUNC: CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTUREAuction Total $7.5 Million

Sotheby's Asia Week auctions began with a dedicated sale of magnificent Chinese Buddhist sculpture from the collection of Stephen Junkunc, III – a Chicago-based connoisseur who formed one of the largest and most important collections of Chinese art ever assembled in the United States.

The sale offered works spanning nearly 1,000 years of early Buddhist stone, lacquer and gilt-bronze sculptures dating from the Northern Wei to Ming dynasties, led by a Rare Painted Limestone Figure of a Standing Bodhisattva from the Tang dynasty that fetched $4.3 million – far surpassing its high estimate of $2.5 million. It is a classic example of China’s Buddhist stone carving from the High Tang period under Emperor Xuanzong (r. 713-755) – the period that saw perhaps the greatest flowering of China’s plastic arts.

Angela McAteer, Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Works of Art Department in New York, commented: “It was an honor to have been entrusted with the superb works from the Junkunc Collection this season, and a great joy to work with the family of Stephen Junkunc, III to share his story with collectors and admirers worldwide. We were pleased to see an international mix of participants in our auction devoted to his incredible selection of Chinese Buddhist sculpture, with top buyers spanning Asia as well as the United States.”

IMPORTANT CHINESE ARTAuction Total $12.7 Million

Works from the Junkunc Collection also performed well during the various-owner auction of Important Chinese Art, with exceptional ceramics from the storied collection commanding a number of the sale’s top prices. The group was led by a Fine and Rare 'Guan'-Type Vase, Qianlong Seal Mark and Period, which soared to $423,000 – more than five times its high estimate of $80,000. Notable for its elegant form and subtle bluish glaze suffused with fine streaks of golden-brown crackles, this well-potted vase embodies the Qianlong emperor’s fondness for celebrated Guan ware of the Southern Song dynasty.

Outside of the Junkunc Collection, the Important Chinese Art auction featured an Archaic Bronze Ritual Vessel (Zun) from the Shang Dynasty, Yinxu Period, which achieved $1.5 million (estimate $650/850,000). Notable for its crisp decoration that has been remarkably preserved, this zun is an outstanding example of late Shang bronze workmanship. Originally used as ritual wine containers, it is well known that the Shang rulers used zun and other tools to commune with the higher powers of the ancestral spirit realm. Rulers may have performed the rituals personally, or with the aid of a spirit medium, such as a shaman.

THE TANG HUNG AND FUNG BI-CHE COLLECTION OFCHINESE PAINTINGS & CALLIGRAPHYAuction Total $4.8 Million

This season's selection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy was highlighted by the collection Tang Hung and Fung Bi-Che – two students of the modern Chinese ink master Zhang Daqian. The collection's total of $4.8 million was well in excess of its high estimate of $3.1 million, with a strong 84.4% of works sold. The collection was led by one of Zhang Daqian’s iconic splashed-ink landscapes, Bridge to Mountain Temple Shrouded by Prismatic Clouds in Splashed Color from 1981 which fetched $915,000 – more than three times its high estimate of $280,000 (pictured below).

Sixteen works by Zhang Daqian were sold from the collection, including a number of pieces that illuminate his close relationship with his former students. In Invitation to Visit, Zhang Daqian invites Tang Hung to join him in the mountains depicted within the landscape. The work, which sold today for $567,000 (estimate $200/300,000) is inscribed: “Last fall, I acquired this striking view of the Northern Mojie Mountain and thought how pleasant it would be to have a dwelling here. I did not have a chance to materialize this vision, I painted it instead. Would you, my very dear friend [Tang Hung], like to join me here to enjoy the serenity of this land?”

Xian Fang, Head of Sotheby’s Classical Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy Sales in New York, commented: “Even in a very selective market, we were able to source rare and extraordinary pieces from private collections worldwide to meet buyers’ demand. The very successful sale of the Tang Hung and Fung Bi-Che Collection proved once again that North America is still an important source for collectors to find pieces that are fresh-to-the-market."

FINE CLASSICAL CHINESE PAINTINGS & CALLIGRAPHYAuction Total $5.7 Million

The various-owner auction of Fine Classical Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy was led by Wang Yuanqi’s Landscape of Yushan, a hanging scroll dating to the 1689 that brought $1.2 million (estimate $1/1.5 million). The work had remained in the Roy and Marilyn Papp Collection – one of the finest private collections of Chinese paintings remaining in the United States.

Works by Zhang Daqian continued to perform well throughout the various-owner sale, including his Dancing Lotus that sold for $375,000 (estimate $220/400,000). The piece appeared at auction from the collection of Carl and Lena Ma – as an airline executive, Mr. Ma met and assisted Zhang Daqian in transporting his paintings around the world. In gratitude of their friendship, the artist invited Mr. Ma and his family to his studio where, in 1973, he gifted and dedicated the work to his friend.

SATURDAY AT SOTHEBY'S: ASIAN ARTAuction Total $3.2 Million

The Asia Week sale series drew to a close over the weekend, with 400 works in total sold across our Saturday at Sotheby's auction. Top prices were commanded by a mix of furniture, porcelain, paintings and decorative arts, led by a number of pieces that soared exponentially beyond expectations: a 'Zitan' and Hardwood Tabletop Cabinet dating to the Qing dynasty, 19th century, achieved $200,000 (pictured left, estimate $6/8,0000); a Landscape attributed to Huang Binhong brought $187,500 (estimate $3/5,000); and a 'Ru'-Type Vase dating to the Qing dynasty, 19th century, fetched $122,500 (estimate $4/6,000).