Back East

Sotheby’s kicks off Asia Week—which for more than a decade has brought a spectrum of happenings and, with them, collecting opportunities to Manhattan—with three days of sales, March 17 through 19. As in recent years, contemporary art promises to be hot: On the 17th, Sotheby’s is auctioning a 1996 Zhang Xiaogang painting featuring two young men in Mao suits portrayed in the artist’s signature streamlined style (est. $1–1.5 million). But traditional works are also expected to fetch seven-figure sums. One masterwork up for grabs on the 19th is a 14th- to 15th-century Tibetan Shakyamuni Buddha in gilt bronze—among the largest and most important outside Tibet—with an estimate of more than $2 million.

Doyle New York’s March 18 auction is dedicated to pre-20th-century art. “We’re sticking to traditional areas doing well on the market right now,” says Marley Rabstenek, the house’s senior specialist in Asian art. Sale highlights include a pair of 18th-century black-lacquered Chinese chairs (est. $18–22,000) and a late 19th-century Japanese cloisonné vase (est. $15–20,000).

On March 19, Christie’s—whose sales are being held March 18 to 21—holds the first Western auction devoted to Chinese textiles. The 150 lots, valued between $3.3 million and $4.6 million, are all from the private collection and inventory of London dealer Linda Wrigglesworth, a leading expert in the field and author of Imperial Wardrobe, a seminal source on Chinese textiles. “They’re very graphic and have a modern sensibility,” observes Tina Zonars, head of Christie’s Chinese works of art department. “They could help serve as a bridge between traditional art and a contemporary collection.” A standout piece is an 18th-century noble-woman’s winter coat (est. $250–350,000). On the modern and contemporary front, Christie’s is focusing on recent Indian art on March 20—one lot of particular note is a large untitled diptych, 1972, by Maqbool Fida Husain, depicting a scene from the Indian epic the Mahabharata (est. $600–800,000).

With Asian art continuing to draw top dollar on the auction floor, it ‘s perhaps surprising that this year’s fairs are shrinking. The International Asian Art Fair, held March 15 to 19, has moved from the Park Avenue Armory to the smaller 583 Park Avenue and in the process dropped 24 galleries from last year’s roster of 57 participants. Among the returning dealers is New York’s Sundaram Tagore Gallery, which is bringing a selection of richly hued abstractions, priced between $25,000 and $250,000, by the likes of New York–based artists Natvar Bhavsar and Hiroshi Senju, who were born in Gujarat, India, and Tokyo, respectively. Despite the dwindling number of gallerists, new players are entering the mix, such as Japan’s Kashima-Arts Co. Ltd., a specialist in 18th-century scrolls and calligraphy.

The New York Arts of Pacific Asia show, held March 21 to 24 at the Gramercy Park Armory, has also downsized to 72 dealers from 87 in 2007. New on the scene this year is London’s S. Marchant & Son, which is bringing a range of items from small jades and snuff bottles starting at a few thousand dollars to Qing Dynasty imperial ceramics priced in the six figures. The gallery defected from the International Asian Art Fair after 10 years. “The Arts of Pacific Asia Show is more of an antiques fair—we felt that the uptown fair had gone very contemporary,” explains director Stuart Marchant.

The week’s burgeoning gallery scene—which, along with hotter sales at the auction houses, has shifted the spotlight to venues beyond the booths—is no doubt partly to blame for the diminished presence of fairs at Asia Week. London-based Francesca Galloway—one of five visiting British gallerists to host an exhibition at a Manhattan venue—has organized, with fellow London dealer Sam Fogg, a must-see show of Indian miniatures from the 17th and 18th centuries at Peter Findlay Gallery. The works, many of which have never before been shown, range in price from about $20,000 to $200,000.

"Back East" originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's March 2008 Table of Contents.