A Review of London's Asian Week

Last week I posted on some of the results and commentary of Asia Week in London, which just came to a conclusion on November 7th. The Economist has a good review of the week in sales. It notes, as has normally been the case that quality sells, and typically sells for excellent prices, mediocre quality is not selling, or are items that are too aggressively priced and catalog, as evidenced by the Chrisite's sale. The Christies sale saw nearly third of the lots bought in. The article notes that Bonhams had a very good sale, even though one of the main pieces on consignment and featured on the catalog's cover was withdrawn.

The Chines art segment remains strong, and the past week of activity in London bears this out.  Now if some of the other market segments can show some of the same signs of consistent interest and sales, the art market should then start to settle and show signs of fresh growth.

The Economist reported

“The market continues to be strong,” said Roger Keverne, the chairman of this year’s Asian Art in London week. “There is demand where there is any level of quality”. Richard Littleton, a New York dealer, secured the jade seal in the face of steady bidding from five other people until nearly the final rounds. Mr Littleton often acts for Edward Johnson, the founder of Fidelity Insurance and one of the most devoted collectors of Chinese fine art in America. Mr Johnson is known to own a scroll with the mark of this seal, and is widely believed to be the buyer.
The week’s most successful sales, both of Chinese and Japanese objects, were probably at Bonhams, even though Bonhams too had to withdraw a square cloisonné vase that featured on the cover of its Chinese catalogue.

The article contiues

London is still the centre of connoisseurship of fine Chinese objects, with about 30 specialist dealers, more than there are in the whole of Europe and America combined. So it is not surprising that the biggest treat for anyone interested in Chinese fine art this week lay within the discreet dealer showrooms a few hundred yards north and south of Piccadilly and around Kensington Church Street.

Richard Marchant and Littleton & Hennessy both had opulent shows designed to appeal to mainland Chinese taste; Priestley & Ferraro and Ben Janssens chose to focus instead on works that Westerners were more likely to find attractive. David Priestley’s Song ceramics, some of them dating back to the eighth or ninth centuries, had a quiet elegance that contrasted sharply with the hustle and bustle outside. Mr Janssens, the chairman of the Maastricht art fair, had an exquisite show of lacquerware, most of it layered tixi lacquer in black and red. By the end of the week, three-quarters of Mr Janssens’s exhibition had sold to just five buyers. Most were British or continental Europeans. Four of the five collectors bought straight from the catalogue without even bothering to view the sale, which is what you can do when you trust your dealer.

To read the full Economist article, click HERE.