Sui-Tang Dynasty carved red sandstone Guanyin figure. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the 470-lot auction.
Norio Azuma, born Mie-Ken, 1928-2004, was a Japanese artist and collector who lived and worked in New York. The objects to be auctioned in Showplace Antique Center’s May 17 sale were part of his personal collection, and most have remained unseen for at least two decades.
Some fine Chinese highlights of the collection include a Yuan Dynasty blue and white meiping vase, a Sui Dynasty straw-glazed amphora, both estimated at $9,000-$12,000, and a Sui-Tang Dynasty carved red sandstone Guanyin figure estimated $15,000-$20,000.
Azuma was also a collector of Japanese antiques and fine art. An Iro-e Ko Imari porcelain Guanyin figure with removable hands will be offered at $6,500-$8,000, and a lot of five 18th century Ko Imari mukozuke bowls for $2,000-$3,000.
Additionally a self-portrait by artist Tsuguharu Foujita is expected to fetch $5,000-$7,000 and a Takamori Oguiss watercolor painting depicting a cityscape for $2,500-$3,500.
Azuma’s original works can be found in major corporate and museum collections around the United States and abroad, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, University of Nebraska, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Butler Institute of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, State University of Potsdam, Smithsonian Institute, the Free Library of Philadelphia, Library of Congress, Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Academy of Science, St. Louis Art Museum, M.I.T., University of California, Art Institute of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, IBM., New Jersey State Museum, Princeton University, USIA, Des Moines Art Center, Rosenwald Collection, Hirshhorn Museum, American Republic Insurance Co. Collection, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, Boston Public Library, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Chouinard Art Institute, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art and Kanazawa Art College.
His work was also exhibited in shows such as “30 Contemporary Artists” at USIA, “28th Corcoran Biennial Exhibition” in Washington, D.C., “3rd International Triennial of Original Graphics,” “Contemporary American Artists” at the White House, “Sculpture and Prints” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, “Kagai Sakka Ten” at the Tokyo Modern Museum of Art, and “American Art Today” at the New York World’s Fair.
Among the original Azuma pieces being offered in this sale are several serigraphs, one titled Red Room circa 1970s for $700-$1,100. A series of original nude painted sketches are also up for auction at $500-$700 each.
Live bidding will begin Thursday, May 17, at 1 p.m. Eastern on LiveAuctioneers.com. Bids may also be placed absentee or by phone. For information contact an auctions department representative at 212-633-6063 ext. 804 or 805, or visit Showplace Antique + Design Center’s website: www.nyshowplace.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Sui-Tang Dynasty carved red sandstone Guanyin figure. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center. Takamori Oguiss watercolor painting. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center. Five 18th century Ko Imari mukozuke bowls. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center. Norio Azuma ‘Red Room’ serigraph. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center. Yuan Dynasty blue and white meiping vase. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center. Iro-e Ko Imari porcelain Guanyin figure. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center. Sui Dynasty straw-glazed amphora. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.
