In a recent, December 15, 2011 sale at Sotheby’s, some of the pieces that were being auctioned were from a collection called Art’s D’Asie. The Parisian Asian Arts sale included several major pieces of porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. One of the most exquisite pieces of the collections was a “tea dust” vase of the Qianlong reign (1736-1795). In the Lot 92 auction at Sotheby the listed prices was between 800,000-1,200,000 EUR. The stylized dragon decoration present on the piece is a trademark of a special group of porcelain that got its inspiration from archaic ritual bronzes. It even exemplifies Emperor Qianlong’s preference for the antique towards the middle of his reign. Also in the sale was an important Qianlong mark and period blue and white parceling moon flask with a Lot 50 estimated price of 500,000-700,000 EUR.
A large blue and white archaistic vase of the Ming dynasty, Wanli mark and period (1573-1620) had a Lot 67 estimated price of 200,000-300,000 EUR. Also in this collection was a blue and white dragon basin from the same reign with an Lot 68 estimated price of 150,000-200,000 EUR and a Ming Dynasty, Zhengde mark and period (1506-1521) yellow ground and underglazed dish with a Lot 75 estimated price of 150,000-200,000 EUR.
In the excerpt from Sarah Thornton’s book, Seven Days in the Art World, she discusses the experience at an auction which revealed several intricacies to the whole process. One major characteristic of auction is that it is a place where “the art world [gets] its financial value. [Auctions] give the illusion of liquidity”. This is very evident by the fact that works of art at auctions are reduced to pieces of monetary value. This is also present by the sale of the pieces from the Art’s D’Asie collection. These works, dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasty, are reduced to their monetary value rather than being appreciated as valuable, historical, art. During the Ming Dynasty, culture developed rapidly and the economy sold many commodities including porcelain. Before the 16th century, the Ming dynasty was even a leading country in scientific development. Then, by the middle of the 18th century the economy of the Qing dynasty had reached its peak and spanned three emperors including Emperor Qianlong. This age was called “the golden age”. Works from both these dynasties has great value and have historical implications greater than just monetary value.
It is likely that they were obtained quickly, within minutes like at a typical auction. In the excerpt, Thornton notes that items that are successfully sold are done so in minutes. Deals are made quickly, and serious collectors usually do the purchasing. In the words of Amy Cappellazzo, Christie’s international co-head of postwar and contemporary art, “art is more like real estate than stocks”, implying that there are different degrees of wealth that can be obtained and displayed through the purchase of art. One can gain riches and display his or her wealth with a condo, or with a penthouse. Stocks are always stocks, simply with different values. Buying the items in the Arts D’Asie collection may reflect this notion. The collection may provide a serious collector with a quick, non-time consuming means of collecting art from a powerful time in history, without having to deal with primary dealers and the red tape associated with interacting with them. With this art, they can work towards increasing their status in the art world and monetary value. After all, auction is a “high-society spectator sport” where people go to be seen and meet and greet “the money”.
Some of the works in the Art's D'Asie collection:
On the left is a porcelain vase from the Qing Dynasty
On the right is a porcelain plate from the Ming Dynasty
References:
Thornton, Sarah. Seven Days in the Art World. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/ming.htm
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/qing.htm
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2011/arts-dasie/overview.html