Gianguan Auctions offers strong lineup of Asian art, Sept. 24

 

NEW YORK – On Saturday, September 24, starting at 10 am Eastern time, Gianguan Auctions will present its Asia Art Week Sale. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

The auction lineup includes a collection of Buddhist statutes, traditional paintings and scholarly items. Arguably the collection’s top highlight is the Qing dynasty Tibetan copper group of Guhyasamaja Akshobhyavajra, which carries an estimate of $40,000-$50,000. It depicts Guhyasamaja seated in dhyanasana on a double lotus base with beaded rims, wearing a sanghati incised with a delicate floral motif and embracing Sparsavajri in his arms, representing the primordial union of wisdom and compassion. Their faces gaze at each other, surmounted by foliate tiaras and high chignons topped with finials. Both hold the same attributes underlining the concept of symmetry on which to meditate, as it is suggested that all physical and mental phenomena have a symmetrical nature.

Another exceptional offering of devotional art is a pair of carved gilt crystal figures of Guanyin from the Qing dynasty, offered together with an estimate of $20,000-$30,000. The two are deftly carved from a large block of rock crystal as a standing Guanyin, wearing loose robes falling in folds above the bare feet, with eyes downcast in a serene expression, both with hair swept back in a high chignon and falling in braids at the shoulders. Their topknots are covered by a gilt bronze crown centered by a diminutive image of Amitabha. The upper torsos of each are left bare and partially covered with elaborate gilt bronze necklaces. The Chinese word for rock crystal, shuijing, means water essence or crystallized water. As such, it is a symbol for purity, clarity and honor.

Votive properties also include several distinctive Tibetan gilt bronze figures of Manjushri, Jambhala and Avalokitesvara, each measuring 5 ¼in tall, each estimated at $2,000-$3,000, and each seated on a lotus pedestal, exemplifying the stylistic range of the Qing dynasty’s Tibetan religious art.

The catalog cover lot, a Qing Qianlong white jade vase and cover, is exquisitely carved in a flattened baluster shape with twin stylized elephant heads and loose-ring handles issuing from the neck as well as from the domed cover, which is surmounted by a hollow finial. Gilt-carved in shallow relief on both sides are Buddhist poems. This jade vase is unusual for its large size and even white tone translucency, and its exterior bears a carved Qianlong four-character seal-script mark. The jade vase is estimated at $40,000-$50,000.

Similarly, Lot 27, a jade carving of fishermen on a boat, takes the form of an openwork flat bottom fishing boat with a hollowed out interior, covered with an arched thatched roof and having an opening in the center. It is intricately carved with four boatmen on deck rowing with long paddles and a dog standing in alert position at the bow, atop a bed of swirling waves. The piece is a testament to the masterful ability of the unknown carver, who possessed exquisite technical ingenuity. The lustrous translucent stone boasts a pale green tone and minor russet inclusions. It is estimated at $30,000-$40,000.

Classical paintings collectors will delight in Modernist Huang Binhong’s landscape album of nine leaves from Robert Ellsworth’s collection. Using his signature thick laying and shading of ink and colors in untrammeled brushworks to create a view of natural splendor, Huang presented a cluttered yet orderly landscape. The album is estimated at $40,000-$50,000.

Artist Ren Xun, who was active during the late Qing dynasty, developed a functional, then-new style in the painting of flowers and birds with outline techniques. The incisive detailed brush lines animated the flowers and birds, and the light and dark shadings heightened the realism of the flowers-birds genre, as depicted in Lot 60, Ren Xun’s Flowers and Birds. It carries an estimate of $20,000-$30,000.

To learn more about any item in Gianguan’s September 24, 2022 auction, email info@gianguanauctions.com or call 212-867-7288.

 

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