The sales will span a spectrum of collecting categories—from classical Japanese and Korean art, to works from South Asian modern masters and cutting-edge contemporary works, as well as Chinese paintings, ceramics and works of art. The sales feature over 1,300 lots and are expected to realize in excess of $50 million.
Christie’s lineup begins Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 10 a.m. Eastern with South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, followed at 2 p.m. by Indian and Southeast Asian Art.
The opening sale will offer an extensive selection of over 200 lots of sculpture, paintings, ritual objects, and works of art from India, Tibet, Nepal and Southeast Asia. Several notable collections will also be featured in the sale including the Burkhart Collection, as well as property from the Dr. David Nalin Collection, which has a large focus on stone and stucco sculpture from the Gandharan region.
The afternoon session will present an array of works from the 20th and 21st centuries, featuring works by modernists including Syed Haider Raza, Francis Newton Souza and Tyeb Mehta. Also featured are several masterpieces by Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011), who died in June.
Japanese and Korean Art will cross the auction block on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 2 p.m. With over 100 lots, the Japanese section of the sale will feature Inro from the collection from the Catherine H. Edson estate, paintings, lacquer wares and furniture, while the Korean portion includes fine porcelains, as well as traditional and modern paintings by Korean masters.
A Connoisseur’s Vision: Property from the Xu Hanqing Collection will sell Thursday, Sept. 15, beginning at 10 a.m. This elite group of 150 objects includes important examples of ancient Chinese paintings, rare calligraphy, lustrous jades, an assortment of luxurious seals and other sophisticated objects and is expected to realize approximately $7 million.
Connoisseur Xu Hanqing was born in 1883, in Yancheng, Jiangsu province and died in the 1950s. In his early career, he was an official with the Chinese Qing-dynasty government and later, in the early Republican period, a co-founder and president of Continental Bank. Xu was also an accomplished calligrapher with a passion for the traditional arts. Formed over the course of his lifetime, Xu’s collection covers a broad spectrum of bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting, porcelain and paper. In addition to being highly regarded as a collector, he was also an art historian and an expert in inscriptions and textual research.
Three dozen jade carvings from an important European collection will also sell Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. Leading this sale is a rare white jade archaistic vase and cover, Qianlong/Jiaqing period (1736-1820) estimated at $750,000-$1 million.
Fine Chinese ceramics and works of art will sell Sept. 15 beginning at 3:30 p.m. and again on Friday, Sept. 16, with sessions at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. More than 550 objects from across many categories and tastes will be offered. This sale is expected to realize in the region of $19 million.
Complete catalogs are available online at www.christies.com or via the Christie’s iPhone app.
