This was a 2ft 4in (71cm) Japanese bronze centrepiece, modelled as the mythical warrior Benkia the Giant, standing on a hardwood base with one arm raised supporting a circular bowl and a sword in his left hand.
Sourced at a valuation day in Glasgow, its size, quality and condition all helped it leave behind the £700-1000 estimate and bring a winning bid of £6300.
A second Japanese work was an 18th century tanto – 111/4in (28cm) dagger – decorated with nashije lacquer and a flowerhead mon which sold at £1100. Rating a little more, the succeeding lot was a death-dealing piece from the Occident – a c.1850 double-barrel percussion holster pistol, which made £1200.
A less combative lot was a stained and leaded glass panel depicting two maidens, one holding a scroll, the other a mandolin. The 233/4in by 83/4in (60cm x 22cm) pane had been bought by the vendors for a couple of pounds but McTears, having attributed it to Glasgow architect and designer David Gauld ARSA, RSA (1865-1936), gave it a £300-5000 estimate. Their estimate was itself eclipsed by the £1450 the panel took from the West Scotland trade.
McTear’s, Glasgow, June 15
Buyer’s premium: 10 per cent
Japan bronze is Glasgow star
THE local west Scottish trade were the driving force behind the 75 per cent take-up on the 589 lots offered at Mctear's. Glasgow on June 15 – including the surprise star piece.
