Over 500 guests, including the Korean Ambassador, not only enjoyed a champagne reception in the gallery but also took this opportunity for a private view of the sell-out exhibition of the First Emperor's Terracotta Army in the nearby Reading Room.
The focal point of the evening was the presentation of the ATG Awards for the most outstanding works of art on show during Asian Art In London.
This year the prize for the best two-dimensional work went to a remarkable pair of 17th century map screens from the Kensington Church Street gallery of Jorge Welsh. Together the screens depicted a continuous panoramic view of the south west coast of Japan from Osaka to Nagasaki. The islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu were all clearly visible along with a mass of detail in the form of towns, rocks and ships including a Portuguese vessel approaching Nagasaki harbour.
The three-dimensional prize went to Jonathan Tucker and Antonia Tozer Asian Art for a serene trio of 8-9th century solid gold Buddhas. These were thought to have originated in Java, Sumatra or Sri Lanka, but were all the more mysterious for having spent centuries on the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand before being recovered by the renowned salvage expert Mike Hatcher. They are being offered for sale by Tucker and Tozer direct from his private collection.
To mark the tenth anniversary, a bottle of champagne was awarded to all those shortlisted for the award: Christie's, Ben Janssens, J.A.N. Fine Art, S. Marchant & Son, Simon Pilling East Asian Art and Interiors, Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Art and Sotheby's.
