What's Happening in Asian Art...
March 11, 2021
A Rare Gilt Copper and Blue Champlevé Enamel Pandan, Deccan, Aurangabad area, possibly Burhanpur, late 17th century, Gilt copper and blue champlevé enamel, Height 7.5 cm; Diameter 13.5 cm, courtesy of Francesca Galloway
We are excited to present our 12th annual celebration of Asian art in New York. This year the spotlight is on our newly designed Online Viewing Room open from today until March 20. Our 29 participating member galleries and 6 auction houses feature almost 400 works dating from the Neolithic period to the present day. You can take a virtual visual journey and see a wide array of tantalizing treasures from Japan to China, India, the Himalayas, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines and even to Iran.
KITAŌJI ROSANJIN (1883-1959), Large Karatsu madara glazed vase, Glazed stoneware, ca. 1955, 17 1/4 x 15 5/8 in, courtesy of Joan B Mirviss LTD
If you are in New York, 13 galleries and the auction house viewings will be open by appointment and welcome you to visit. Stay tuned for daily suggestions of where to go to see a few of the over 3,000 works of art on offer in association with Asia Week 2021.
Xiang Peiyu (1722-1790 or later), “Landscapes” 1790, Album of six leaves, ink on paper 37.8 x 55.5 cm (14 7/8 x 21 7/8 in.), courtesy of Kaikodo LLC
Please join us later today, at 5pm, to Zoom in together for a sampling of the highlights from our online exhibition and of Asian art currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Our panelists include: Maxwell K. Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Department of Asian Art, Olivia Hamilton, Specialist, Head of Department, in the Chinese Works of Art department at Christie’s New York, Katherine Martin, Chairperson, Asia Week New York and Managing Director, Scholten Japanese Art, and Eric Zetterquist, principal, Zetterquist Galleries, New York.
To reserve, click here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oA86NxqZSB273qYA5C2gxw
March 10, 2021
Much is known about the lives of the emperors who lived behind the vermilion walls of the Forbidden City. But what of the women? In the third program of a series commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City, Jan Stuart, top China curator at the Smithsonian, and Di Yajing, architecture expert from the Palace Museum, will share objects and spaces used by the women of the imperial court. Following that, Jay Xu, director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, will join them in a wide-ranging conversation about life within the walls of the Forbidden City. Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum, will open the program with thoughts on conservation of the Forbidden City for the next 600 years.
To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-vbNElB8SoS4r8VU5YYnKg
March 10, 2021
Director and Chief Curator, Kiran Nadar museum of art, New Delhi.
In collaboration with Akar Prakar and Asia Week New York, 2021.
17 March 2021 6:30 PM in India,
(Check EST as clocks change on March 14)
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://zoom.us/j/97967215863
Webinar ID: 979 6721 5863
March 9, 2021
A Rare Chinese Longquan Celadon Drum Form Box and Cover, Song-Yuan Dynasty
Auction of Asian Works of Art at Doyle
Monday, March 15, 2021 at 10am
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle’s Asian Works of Art auction, part of Asia Week New York, will take place on Monday, March 15, 2021 at 10am. Doyle is presenting a curated sale of over 300 lots featuring the arts of China, Japan and elsewhere throughout Asia dating from the Neolithic Period through the 20th century. Showcased will be bronzes, jades, snuff bottles, porcelains, pottery, scholar’s objects and paintings from prominent collections and estates.
A Rare Chinese Longquan Celadon Drum-Form Box and Cover
Southern Song-Yuan Dynasty
Well-potted with rounded, relief-decorated sides with leafy floral scrolling and mask handles above row of pinwheel bosses at base; the cover with row of bosses at side and molded to top with lotus blossom; decorated with thick and pale blue-celadon glaze; the mouth and foot rim burnt orange red with some slight exposure of grey-white stoneware body. Height 4 1/4 inches. Lot 224.
Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000
Provenance:
The Estate of a Connecticut Private Collector
A Fine Chinese Enameled Porcelain Lantern VaseQianlong Seal Mark in Underglaze Blue and of the PeriodThe rounded, cylindrical vase with molded bat-form handles at shoulder and well decorated in famille rose enamels with lotus scrolls, chimes and red bats. Height 10 3/4 inches. Lot 263.Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Provenance:
Acquired from a Private American Collection
A Fine Pair of Chinese Huanghuali High-Back Armchairs 18th Century
Apart from the subtle grace and symmetry of these rare huanghuali chairs, their originality is what should appeal to buyers of classical Chinese furniture. Both chairs display gentle signs of age and use, from the wear to the foot rails to the rounded edges of the arms. The buyer of Lot 87 will also be inheriting a legacy of care that has kept these fine chairs in show condition for over two centuries.
Estimate: $15,000-$20,000
EXHIBITION
Friday, March 12 through Sunday, March 14, Noon-5pm
And by appointment on other days and evenings
Safety protocols will be in place.
March 9, 2021
Sunday March 14 at 5:00 EDT
All lectures are Zoom webinars and require advance registration.
Monumental Satsuma Vase featuring Gods of the Sea in a procession with Kiyomizudera bell; Earthenware with wooden stand; Brodey Collection, Chapel Hill, NC
Making Meiji Modern
Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, VP for Global Artistic Programs and Director of the Asia Society Museum in New York, will moderate a conversation with the JASA 50th Anniversary Exhibition's Co-Curators, Dr. Bradley Bailey, Ting Tsung and Wei Fung Chao Curator of Asian Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and Professor Chelsea Foxwell, University of Chicago.
Click here to register for the Zoom event: March 14 Zoom Webinar
March 8, 2021
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
March 12 @ 4.30 p.m. ET
John Guy presents
Luxury Goods: Ivory and Temple Décor in 18th Century Sri Lanka
Zoom Lecture. Click here to register.
March 6, 2021
An online discussion on Zoom with Japanese art experts
to open Asia Week New York 2021
Wednesday March 10 at 5pm EST
Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883-1959) has long been hailed as one of the greatest ceramists of the twentieth century. While he forged a remarkable career, it was not without first crossing paths, and even colliding, with many of his contemporaries who were themselves renowned ceramic masters: Arakawa Toyozō, Fujiwara Kei, Kaneshige Tōyō, Katō Tokurō, Kawakita Handeishi, and Koyama Fujio.
Our panel of experts will re-examine the legend of Rosanjin as TRADITION REDEFINED places his oeuvre in dialogue with works by these other mid-century titans. They will discuss how some were indispensable to the advancement of Rosanjin’s outsized reputation, and how most remain relatively unknown in the West today.
PANELISTS:
LOUISE CORT, curator emerita of ceramics, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
JOAN CUMMINS, Lisa and Bernard Selz Curator of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum, New York
MEGHEN JONES, Associate Professor of Art History, School or Art and Design, Alfred University
KURODA KUSAOMI of Shibuya Kurodatoen Co., LTD, the foremost modern ceramics gallery in Japan
Discussion moderated by JOAN MIRVISS
Contact Director@mirviss.com to RSVP. Space is limited.
March 5, 2021
UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE, Toto ryogoku yusen no zu (View of pleasure boats at Ryogoku, the Eastern capital), triptych, polychrome woodcut, Japan, c.1830 (Courtesy: Hara Shobo)
New York: Asia Week New York is delighted to present a Virtual Preview of ancient and contemporary treasures from the Far East on Thursday, March 11 at 5:00 p.m. (EST); 2:00 p.m. (PST). To reserve, click here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oA86NxqZSB273qYA5C2gxw
To celebrate this exciting occasion, a panel of distinguished guest speakers will provide a preview of Asian art in their respective fields. They include: Maxwell K. Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Department of Asian Art, Olivia Hamilton, Specialist, Head of Department, in the Chinese Works of Art department at Christie’s New York, Katherine Martin, Chairperson, Asia Week New York and Managing Director, Scholten Japanese Art, and Eric Zetterquist, principal, Zetterquist Galleries, New York.
“On behalf of everyone involved with Asia Week New York, I extend my thanks and appreciation for keeping the ball rolling during the past year,” says Katherine Martin. “We are grateful for the devoted group of galleries, auction houses, museums, curators, collectors, scholars, and the public-at-large who have stood behind us and kept us going and are optimistic that Asia Week New York will return in full force next year.”
According to Martin, Asia Week New York has created a highly sophisticated and streamlined digital platform for dealers and auction houses to present a selection of their respective highlights which can be accessed on www.asiaweekny.com, starting March 11th.
About the Panel
Maxwell K.,(Mike) Hearn Douglas Dillon Chairman, Department of Asian Art, began working at the Metropolitan Museum in 1971, helping oversee the expansion of the Met’s collection of Chinese art as well as major additions to its exhibition spaces, including the Astor Chinese Garden Court, the Douglas Dillon Galleries, and the renovated and expanded galleries for Chinese painting and calligraphy. He has worked on over 50 exhibitions and authored or contributed to numerous catalogues including The Great Bronze Age of China (1980), Splendors of Imperial China: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei (1996), Along the Riverbank: Chinese Paintings from the C. C. Wang Family Collection (1999), How to Read Chinese Paintings (2008) and Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China (2013). Mike, who received his undergraduate degree in art history from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Princeton, has taught graduate and undergraduate seminars on Chinese painting at Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. In 2014 he was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Olivia Hamilton joined Christie’s in 2016 and has been in the industry for ten years. She has been instrumental in bringing to auction internationally important sales of Chinese art across a range of materials, including masterpiece Song ceramics, rare jade carvings, and the finest Ming and Qing porcelain.
Ms. Hamilton holds a Postgraduate diploma in Asian Art from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Classics at the University of Oxford, following which she studied Mandarin in Beijing. She also spent over three years in the Hong Kong office of an English law firm, qualifying as a lawyer in 2008.
Katherine Martin has been the Managing Director of Scholten Japanese Art in New York since 1999 where she has organized over fifty gallery exhibitions. Prior to consulting privately, Ms. Martin was a specialist in the Japanese Department at Sotheby's New York (1993-1999). While at Sotheby's, Ms. Martin was the primary contact for the sale of the Donna and the Late Arthur Levis Collection of Yoshitoshi Woodblock Prints (Sept. 1997, Mar. 1998), and the New York representative for the London auction of Highly Important Japanese Prints from the Henri Vever Collection in October 1997. Ms. Martin was also the specialist in charge during the series of auctions of inro, netsuke, and works of art from the Collection of the Late Charles A. Greenfield (Sept. 1997, March 1998, Sept. 1998). From 2012 she has served on the Planning Committee of the Asia Week New York Association, Inc. (AWNY), on its Board as Treasurer (2012-2017, and 2019-present), and as Chairperson of AWNY as of March 2019.
Ms. Martin has written several catalogues published by Scholten Japanese Art, including the ongoing series focused on woodblock prints, Highlights of Japanese Printmaking, for which the most recent volume, Part Six – The Baron J. Bachofen von Echt Collection of Golden Age Ukiyo-e, was released in March 2020.
Eric Zetterquist is an artist and Asian antiquities dealer. He opened his eponymous gallery in 1992 after training for ten years with dealer and photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto. While presenting early ceramics from all of Asia, he has specialized in those from Tang through Yuan Dynasties in China, as well as 11th to 16th centuries in South East Asia and Japan.
Since the inception of his gallery, Zetterquist has mounted over 50 exhibitions and authored 14 exhibition catalogs. He has hosted numerous “handling sessions” for University undergraduate and graduate students, in the belief that ceramics should be handled to be fully understood. In 2015, Zetterquist presented "Ly Dynasty White and Brown-and-White Wares; A Visual Declaration of Independence” at the Cornell University symposium, “Vietnamese Ceramics: Objects at the Crossroads.”
As he embarks on his fourth decade as a gallerist, Eric Zetterquist looks forward to presenting the best of Asian ceramics in New York, while contributing to their understanding and appreciation in the rich tapestry of world art history.
About Asia Week New York
The collaboration of top-tier international Asian art galleries, the five major auction houses, Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Heritage Auctions, iGavel, and Sotheby’s, and numerous museums and Asian cultural institutions, Asia Week New York is a week-long celebration filled with a non-stop schedule of simultaneous gallery open houses, Asian art auctions as well as numerous museum exhibitions, lectures, and special events. Participants from Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, and the United States unveil an extraordinary array of museum-quality treasures from China, India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, and Korea.
Asia Week New York Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade membership organization registered with the state of New York. For more information visit www.AsiaWeekNewYork.com @asiaweekny #asiaweekny
About Songtsam, Presenting Sponsor
Founded by Baima Duoji, in 2000, the Songtsam Hotels, Resorts, & Tour is the only collection of luxury Tibetan-style retreats found across the Tibetan Plateau that offers guests sophisticated elegance, refined design, modern amenities, and unobtrusive service in places of natural beauty and cultural interest. With his long-standing and strong interest in Chinese, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian art, Mr. Baima started collecting art long before he established his first hotel, Songtsam Lodge Shangri-La, which is located next to the famous Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La. Many of the properties across the Tibetan plateau are decorated with Mr. Baima’s personal collection, with each hotel acting as a private art museum. Songtsam aims to share the beauty of humanity’s imagination and creativity with people from all over the world and has been exploring and preserving the essence of Tibetan culture, all the while maintaining a commitment to supporting economic development, local communities, environmental conservation, and sustainability within Tibet and Yunnan. For more information, visit www.songtsam.com/en
March 4, 2021
An Exceptional and Rare Blue and White 'Floral' Bowl, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period
Sotheby’s is delighted to present highlights of its upcoming Asia Week sales in New York, featuring a diverse array of Asian art spanning 4,000 years of history. Among the highlights are an exceptional selection of Imperial jades and cloisonné enamels from the Brooklyn Museum, sold to support museum collections; Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s Untitled – which will appear at auction for the first time this March after remaining in the collection of renowned American physicist, Robert Marshak and his wife Ruth for nearly sixty years, and more. All works on offer are open for viewing by appointment in Sotheby’s New York galleries beginning 11 March, with auctions taking place from 12 – 24 March.
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIAN ART, Auction 16 March @ 10:00AM
There is an exceptional offering of works from the storied collections of Ruth and Robert Marshak and design impresario Patwant Singh, as well as masterpieces, such as Akbar Padamsee’s 1956 Landscape, which traveled for a representation at the La Biennale di Venezia, 1956, and a 1961 French landscape by Sayed Haider Raza. This year’s sale features works by more than 65 artists, with an effort towards expanding the discourse around the diverse corpus of South Asian Art created in the 20th century.
The sale is led by two rare paintings on public view for the first time in decades, including Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s Untitled, which will appear at auction for the very first time since it was acquired in the 1960s; and Jehangir Sabavala’s Lone Vigil from 1989, which entered a private international collection thirty-two years ago and has not been seen since. The sale features works from other significant private collections, including the Patwant Singh and Romen & Rasil Basu Family Collection, and works from the collection of renowned art critic George Butcher; a selection of sculptures led by an archetypal bronze masterpiece by Meera Mukherjee; as well as a diverse selection of works from the Bengal School of Art by many of the leading artists that defined this iconic genre including Gaganendranath Tagore, Benode Behari Mukherjee, Sunayani Devi and Sailoz Mookherjea.
Acquired directly from the artist in Bombay in the 1960s, Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s incandescent red canvas Untitled, 1962 will appear at auction for the first time this March, after remaining in the collection of renowned American physicist, Robert Marshak and his wife Ruth for nearly sixty years (estimate $800,000/1,200,000). The early 1960s were a critical moment in both Gaitonde’s career and the development of Color Field painting. The present work represents the artist’s unique experimentation with color, surface, texture, proportion and suspension, a defiant and remarkable intent which became the hallmark of Gaitonde’s celebrated œuvre.
IMPERIAL CLOISONNE & JADE: CHINESE ART FROM THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM, Auction 17 March @ 9:00 AM
Leading Sotheby’s Asia Week sale series this March is a remarkable selection of Imperial jades and cloisonné enamels produced during the Ming and Qing dynasties from the Brooklyn Museum, sold to support museum collections. Two of the most significant gifts made to the Brooklyn Museum during the early years of the twentieth century are the cloisonné enamels collected by Samuel P. Avery, Jr. (1847- 1920), and jades and hardstones acquired by Colonel Robert B. Woodward (1840-1915). The 45 works on offer from the Brooklyn Museum represents the generosity of these two patrons, among others, who together were to shape the understanding of these two materials.
This distinguished group of works is led by a magnificent Qing dynasty, Qianlong period Exceptional White and Russet Jade Brushpot (estimate $1/1.5 million) from the Woodward Collection. Colonel Robert B. Woodward (1840-1915) was a lifelong Brooklyn resident whose generous gift of 218 jade and hardstone carvings was made to the institution in 1914. Produced in increased quantity from the mid-Qianlong period on, jade brushpots were rarer and more valuable than those made from bamboo, wood or porcelain, and tended to be concentrated in the collections of the imperial family and other nobility. Under the Qianlong Emperor’s auspices, the jade brushpot became an important medium for pictorial subjects. Many of these illustrate historical events or stories as memorialized in classical paintings, while others interpret their source material, aiming to capture the spirit of China's rich tradition of landscape painting. The decoration of the present brushpot follows in the tradition of Chinese painting, treating the surface of the material as a horizontal scroll. The motif unfolds in front of the viewer as the brushpot is turned and with each scene a new perspective of the landscape is revealed, making the brushpot an object that can be appreciated from multiple vantage points. Also on offer from the Brooklyn Museum collection is a group of cloisonné enamels from the world-renowned Samuel P. Avery, Jr. Collection, led by an exceptionally rare ‘Bats And Clouds’ cloisonné enamel vase (estimate $300/500,00). The Avery Collection of Chinese Cloisonné Enamels was not only the most important and largest of its type in America, but it remains today one of the most important holdings of Chinese cloisonné worldwide.
IMPORTANT CHINESE ART, Auction 17 March @ 10:00 AM
The day continues with a diverse assemblage of rare and exceptional Chinese works of art from distinguished collections, spanning 4,000 years of Chinese history from the Shang dynasty onwards. The Important Chinese Art auction highlights include two early Ming dynasty blue and white masterworks, led by an exceptional and rare 15th century Chinese Yongle period Blue and White ‘Floral’ Bowl, which will appear at auction for the first time after it was amazingly discovered at a yard sale near New Haven, Connecticut - where it was purchased for just $35 (estimate $300/500,000). While perusing yard sales in Connecticut last year, the consignor came across the small yet eye-catching bowl. Given his attraction to its striking and intricate design, he purchased the bowl without hesitation for a modest $35 – the asking price. Intrigued by the piece, the buyer brought the bowl to Sotheby’s specialists for evaluation, where it was immediately identified as an exceptionally rare piece. For comparison, only six companion bowls are known, with most held in the most renowned museum collections in the world, including two in the National Palace Museum, Taipei; one in the British Museum; one in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and one in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran. This delicate bowl is a quintessential Yongle product made for the court, showing the striking combination of superb material and painting with a slightly exotic design that characterizes imperial porcelain of this period.
On offer from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, a superb and important parcel-gilt silver 'Lotus And Pomegranate' bowl further highlights the sale (estimate $1/1.5 million). With its exquisite shape, lavish decoration and rich gilding, the present silver bowl stands firmly in the tradition of the best Tang silverwares, yet it is in many ways unique: it is extremely rare in being fully gilded on the outside, for example, rather than only to high-light the designs, as on the inside. Gold and silver are eternal symbols of wealth and luxury and were coveted in every period, but perhaps never more so than at the court and among the elites of the Tang dynasty (618-907).
THE HUNDRED ANTIQUES: FINE & DECORATIVE ASIAN ART, Auction 12 – 24 MARCH
Open for bidding online from 12 – 24 March, The Hundred Antiques: Fine & Decorative Asian Art comprises over 190 Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Himalayan works of art and paintings. The sale features Ming and Qing dynasty porcelains, classical furniture, jade, and scholar’s objects, among others. Together, they exemplify the range of artistic expressions, materials, and techniques from Asia’s diverse cultures. Highlights include a large Qing dynasty blue and white Tianqiuping (estimate $15/20,000, pictured left); an ornate hardstone-inlaid Nepalese votive plaque (estimate $5/7,000); a selection of Indian miniature paintings, jade and jadeite carvings from the Estate of Allen O. Battle, PhD; Qing dynasty glass from an important American private collection; a group of early Chinese ceramics from a Boston private collection; and numerous Chinese works of art from the collection of Henry H. Arnhold, sold to benefit the Arnhold Foundation.
March 3, 2021
An incredibly rare and museum-quality 11th century brass figure of Vajravarahi from Northeastern India, dating from the Pala Period; an important 10th century lacquered wood sculpture of Amida Buddha; and a wonderful grouping of Ming and Qing lacquer wares from the Collection of Robert W. Moore are among the highlights of Bonhams New York Asia Week sales announced today. This March, Bonhams New York will present a plethora of fine and rare works from a range of art historical periods throughout Asia’s past and present, the sales include: Chinese Works of Art and Paintings on Monday, March 15 at 10AM EST, Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on Tuesday, March 16 at 6PM EST, and Fine Japanese and Korean Art on Wednesday, March 17 at 10AM EST.
Chinese Works of Art and Paintings
Monday, March 15, 2021
10AM EST
This sale offers treasured works of art from a series of prestigious private collections from America, led by the Ming and Qing lacquer wares from The Collection of Robert W. Moore, famed California collector of Chinese and Korean art. Among the highlights is a superb 15th/16th century Ming mother-of-pearl and black lacquer octagonal tray, exquisitely inlaid with courtly scene of figures at a lakeside pavilion (Estimate: US$25,000-35,000). Other featured collections include:
• Select sculptures from The Estate of Marilynn B. Alsdorf, featuring a rare black stone cross-legged figure of Maitreya dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty (Estimate: US$70,000-100,000).
• Ceramics from the 9th century through late Qing, led by a cream-glazed ingot-shaped pillow with an Imperial Qianlong inscription from The Rosalind Ching Pastor Collection (Estimate: US$50,000-70,000). Research suggests that it formed part of the renowned Japanese dealer Yamanaka & Co. Inc. property, which came to market in 1943 at the Parke-Bernet Galleries liquidation sale.
• A select group of archaic jade ‘animal’ carvings from the Shang Dynasty through Han Dynasty from The Estate of Robert Youngman, including a russet jade Shang bear (Estimate: US$30,000-50,000).
Highlights of Chinese paintings and calligraphy date from the 16th through 21st century, including:
• An interesting collaborative fan painting (Estimate: US$8,000-10,000) by two leading painters of the 19th century Shanghai School: Xugu (1823-1896) and Wu Changshuo (1844-1927). Created for their fellow artist of the school Ren Yi (1840-1896), this one small fan connects the three giants, and is a testament to the collaborative and social nature at play in Shanghai at the time.
• Qi Baishi (1864-1957) Mice and Candlestick (Estimate: US$70,000-90,000).
Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
6PM EST
Leading Bonhams marquee sale week is a museum-quality brass figure of Vajravarahi from Northeastern India, dating from the Pala Period, circa 11th Century (Estimate: US$400,000-600,000). Possibly one of the earliest known bronze sculptures of Vajravarahi in existence, this figure from the eminent Nyingjei Lam Collection has been on loan to the Rubin Museum over the past 15 years, and has never since been published. Vajravarahi has been the most important female meditational deity in Tantric Buddhism since 11th century in Northeastern India, and it was at that very moment this figure was created. It brims with expressive iconography recalling the Indian myth of the Earth Goddess, envisioned as a young girl rising from the depths of cosmic waters. Bronzes remaining in India are believed to have been buried, but the alluring buttery patina on this figure suggests that it had been taken to – and preserved in – Tibet in the 11th or 12th century.
Among the highlights are also sculptures from the Siddharth K. Bhansali Collection and a grouping of South Indian Ganesha sculptures, as well as:
• A gilt copper alloy figure of Lokeshvara Padmapani from Nepal, 12th/13th century (Estimate: US$100,000-150,000). Intimately scaled and sensuously modelled, it is a depiction of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the lord who looks upon the world. It offers a calm, benevolent gaze and its right hand is in the gesture of granting wishes. The lotus in bloom by his left shoulder symbolizes every being’s potential to achieve enlightenment despite their past.
• A gilt copper alloy and repoussé shrine of Manjuvajra, Nepal, 17th/18th century (Estimate: US$130,000-180,000). The distinct shrine invokes Manjuvajra, an esoteric form of Manjushri – the Bodhisattva of Transcendent Wisdom. With three heads and six arms, he crosses his principal hands at the chest, embracing his consort while symbolizing the union of skillful means and wisdom.
Fine Japanese and Korean Art
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
10AM EST
The Fine Japanese and Korean Art sale is comprised of more than 180 Japanese and Korean lots, led by an important 10th century lacquered wood sculpture of Amida Buddha (Estimate: US$100,000-150,000). This Amida Buddha was created during the Heian period (764-1158), considered the first golden age of Buddhist sculpture in Japan. The distinctly Heian features – the soft lines, the voluminous body and limbs, and almost childlike appearance with gentle serene expressions – are considered as a native Japanese style.
Equally appealing is an important model of a celestial musician from the Horyuji temple (Estimate: US$35,000-50,000). This figure is believed to have been attached to the rim of an elaborate jeweled canopy of one of the three important statues in the Golden Hall of Horyuji Temple, Nara – Japan’s first UNESCO World Heritage site. The canopy has been erected since the hall’s reconstruction after a fire in 670.
The sale’s Korean section features:
• An outstanding selection of ceramics from a private Japanese collection formed in the early 20th century, including an intricately carved white porcelain brush pot (Estimate: US$40,000-50,000) carved with symbols of longevity: deer, cranes, bamboo and pine.
• A large-scale painting of Yeongsan (Vulture Peak) Assembly (Estimate: US$7,000-9,000), which features the historical Buddha preaching the Lotus Sutra to his disciples. This impressive work, likely displayed at an alter behind the principal deity in a temple, was purchased in the 1960s by an American officer stationed in Korea.
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