This Olympia sale takes the place of Sotheby’s Bond Street Colonnade sales. Of the two collections, the 48 works from Henry Guinness de Lazlo (1901-68) that had previously been on display in the Oriental Museum, Durham University, netted over £100,000, while the second collection, from Asia, comprising around 20 red and blue monochromes also generated considerable interest.
A textile rather than a piece of porcelain furnished the sale with its highlight: a late 19th century embroidered summer gauze Imperial chi’fu.
Given to the vendor on her 30th birthday by an elderly lady (who had inherited it from a relative who had worked on the Chinese railways in the late 19th century), it was in excellent condition and had probably been made up at a later stage from an uncut robe.
Although the embroidery around the cuffs was not as good as the detail around the neck, it realised more than an Emperor’s robe when a private collector outbid the trade at £23,000.
Foremost in the Guinness de Lazlo collection was a turquoise-glazed mark and period Qianlong dish. In good condition and with a well executed mark, it would have been a steal at £2000-3000, but was taken by the Hong Kong trade to £16,000.
Elsewhere in the monochromes, the Hong Kong trade went to £9600 for a Daoguang seal mark and period copper red yuhuchun vase. More of a surprise was a large copper-red and underglaze-blue two-handled vase, early 20th century, 2ft 71/2in (80cm). Privately consigned and in good condition, its large size and commercial Chinese-taste design of deer cavorting amongst rockwork and pine trees, saw it sail past £1000-1500 expectations, secured by the Hong Kong trade at £15,000.
Birthday gift yields £23,000 bonus
Nothing is more certain to draw buyers in their droves than modestly estimated works from private collections. A single textile entry and two conservatively estimated porcelain collections did just that at Sotheby’s Olympia (17.5/10% buyer’s premium) inaugural Chinese Works of Art on November 16.
