NYC Asia Week March 13th-21st 2015

Asia week is right around the corner. Starting in mid march New York City will be home to some of the most beautiful Asian antiques in the world. Artwork from China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia and Korea will be displayed. Manhattan auctions, museums and galleries will be showcasing their best items. New York will be welcoming thousands of visitors from Asia. These visitors hope to see some great examples of Asian art and antiquities. Some will be in town to browse, but many are coming to purchase.

The strongest markets in past years have been Chinese, Southeast Asian and India. These markets are expected to do well once again. However, many Asian art specialists say the markets aren't quite as strong as they were just a couple of years ago. It will be interesting to see how the auctions do in 2015. The main auctions participating in Asia week are Sotheby's, Christie's, Doyle, Bonhams and Igavel.

Asian antique dealers and gallery owners are doing their best to acquire fine examples of Chinese and Southeast Asian art before Asia Week. If you are looking to sell Asian goods, now is a great time to do so. Dealers tend to pay top dollar right before Asia Week. They need to be sure they have enough of the appropriate merchandise to make our Asian collectors happy. If you need a few recommendations of competitive Asian art buyers, let us know. We are happy to help.

For a list of all the museums, auctions and galleries participating in Asia Week you can visit: http://www.asiaweekny.com

NYC European Art Week including a painting of Jerusalem by Weeks

Manhattan will be home to some beautiful pieces of European art next week. Christie's, Sotheby's and Bonhams will be contributing a combined 283 pieces of artwork to the auction block for the spring European Art sales.

Christie's will have paintings by Jean-Francois Millet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and Jean Beraud. The highlight of the sale will be a painting by Gustave Courbet. The painting is estimated to sell between $800,000 and $1,200,000. The auction will be held on Monday April 28th at 2pm.

Bonhams will be selling works by William Adolphe Bouguereau, Jean Francois Raffaelli and Leon Francois Comerre. One of the most interesting paintings of the sale is titled "A View of Jerusalem" by Edwin Lord Weeks. It is one of the orientalist artists earliest paintings. The painting is estimated to sell between $300,000 and $500,000. The auction will be held on Wednesday May 7th at 1pm.

Sotheby's major artists include Giovanni Boldini, John William Godward and Gustave Courbet. The highest estimated painting was by Jean-Leon Gerome. This painting is estimated to sell between $800,000 and $1,200,000. The auction will be on Friday May 9th at 10am.

Asia Week NYC- March 2014

Asia week is here once again. The week will begin on March 14th and end on March 22nd. The entire week is dedicated to Asian art. Multiple auctions, dealers and museums all around NYC will be focusing on Asia. The major auction houses that will be having Asian sales will be Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, Doyle and Igavel. Some of the many sales categories will be Chinese art, Japanese Art, Indian Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art. Jade, porcelain and bronzes are expected to bring big bucks this year at auction. Many auction lots are estimates at over a 1/2 a million dollars. Some of the extremely rare lots may even bring over a million dollars.

A great number of International buyers will be in town for the sales. People will be visiting from all around the world to buy the rare antique Asian items. However, China seems to be the country that has the buyers with the deepest pockets. It will be very interesting to find out if the Asian market is still as strong as it has been.

This fantastic week is not just about auctions sales. It is also about educating people on Asian art and its history. You can see multiple lectures and displays all over the city. To learn more about the lectures, displays and sales during Asia week, please visit www.asiaweekny.com. The site has extensive information about this entertaining and educational week. 

New York Dogs in Show and Field Auction at Bonhams

Every year Bonhams auction in New York has a "Dogs in Show and Field" sale. The sale includes paintings, jewelry, porcelain, bronzes, silver and more. The selection of dog themed items at Bonhams is incredible. The big ticket item is a 17th century old master painting titled "Amsterdam Dog Market". The painting is estimated at $200,000-$300,000. The highlight of the sale is a painting by John Martin Tracy titled "Haunt of the woodcock: Sensation and Bang". The late 19th century painting is estimated at $100,000-$150,000. It shows 2 perfect examples of the Pointer breed.

Of course the subject of all the art at this sale is dogs. However, the items show different types of dog themes. Many show hunting scenes, others have dogs with puppies and some show beautiful portraits. Many different dog breeds will be portrayed. These include Pointer, Maltese, Bulldog, St. Bernard, Mastiff, Cocker Spaniel, Terrier, Greyhound, German Shepherd, Dalmation, Poodle and more. 

Anyone that has an interest in dogs should go see the extensive selection at Bonhams. It only happens once a year and you don't want to miss it. The sale will be on Wednesday, February 12th. Previews of the auction will be on Monday and Tuesday.

American Furniture, Folk Art, Clocks and Silver-NYC

This week New York City will have some beautiful American items at auction. American furniture, folk art, clocks, silver and much more will be on display for sale. 

Sotheby's will be having 2 sales. Important Americana and Important American Folk Art from the Collection of Ralph o. Esmerian. Included in these sales are some great Chippendale and Federal furniture.

Christie's will have an Important American Silver Sale and an Important American Furniture, Folk Art & Decorative Arts sale. The silver sale will have rare silver from the 17th and 18th century. The American Furniture sale will have an 18th century Chippendale table that could sell for over a million dollars.

Bonhams will also be having 2 sales. The first is called Fine American and European Furniture, Silver, Folk and Decorative Arts & Clocks. This sale will include a beautiful EF Caldwell bronze, marble and ivory clock. The second sale will be Important Maritime Paintings and Decorative Arts. The sale has many paintings and a collection of antique scrimshaw as well.

Sotheby's

Important Americana- January 24-25

Visual Grace: Important American Folk Art from the Collection of Ralph O. Esmerian- January 25

Christie's

Important American Silver- January 23

Important American Furniture, Folk Art & Decorative Arts- January 24

Bonhams

Fine American & European Furniture, Silver, Folk and Decorative Arts & Clocks- January 23

Important Maritime Paintings and Decorative Arts- January 24

Results……...

Sotheby's sold a miniature chest from the early 19th century for $377,000. This was 5 times the high estimate. They also sold a rare eider drake decoy for $767,000.

Christie's sold a 17th century silver bowl for $317,000 at the silver sale. They also sold the Chippendale table for $905,000

Bonhams sold the EF Caldwell clock for $15,000 which was double the estimate. An inlaid Baroque style bone and tortoiseshell ebonized cabinet was sold for $149,000. They also sold a James Edward Buttersworth painting in the Maritime sale for $221,000. 

(all auction results have the buyer premium included)

American Art Week

This week is American Art week in New York City. Sothebys, Christies and Bonhams auction houses have a great number of beautiful American artwork for sale. The artist that is getting the most attention is Norman Rockwell. Rockwell has 17 oil paintings being auctioned at the major New York auction houses this week (not including Christie’s private sale exhibition). Estimates for Norman Rockwell’s paintings range from $80,000 to 20 million dollars. The current high for a Rockwell painting is 15 million dollars. This could be a record breaking week.

Sotheby’s has an incredible total of 10 Norman Rockwell paintings this week. The highlight of these paintings is Saying Grace, which is estimated at 15-20 million dollars. Also at Sotheby’s this week are 2 oil paintings by Maxfield Parrish. These are the only 2 Parish paintings being sold at New York auctions this week. Both are estimated to sell for over $200,000. In addition, being sold for 2-3 million dollars is an Edward Hopper painting called Church In Eastham.

Christie’s highlight this week is a painting by Edward Hopper named East Wind Over Weehawken. It is definitely one of Hopper’s most impressive paintings. The estimate is 22-28 million dollars. Also at Christies are 3 artworks by Frederic Remington. These include 2 bronzes and one oil painting. They are estimated at over $100,000 each. Remington does not have any works at other auction houses in New York this week. Christies has 5 Norman Rockwell paintings at auction this year. The most expensive is a very cute painting titled Boy With Two Dogs estimated at 1-1.5 million dollars. Christie's has a private sale exhibition called Illustrating America-Norman Rockwell & His Contemporaries, that includes many more exceptional Norman Rockwell paintings.

Bonhams has a great selection of art this week. The 2 Childe Hassam paintings seem to be getting the most attention. The larger of the two is titled East Gloucester, End of the Trolley Line. It is estimated at $300,000-$500,000. The other painting by Hassam is Land's End, Coast of Maine. It is estimated at $200,000-$300,000. One of the more colorful paintings at Bonhams is by Abbott Fuller Graves. It is a beautiful large floral painting estimated at $100,000-$150,000. Bonhams also has 2 very good-looking Norman Rockwell paintings. They are both estimated over $300,000. Bonhams is the only auction house this week to have paintings by Leroy Neiman. They have a Neiman painting of a New York Jets football player named John Riggins. This oil painting is a great example of Neiman’s work and is estimated at $50,000-$70,000.

Overall it should be a fun filled week for anyone who enjoys American art. Bonhams and Sotheby’s will be having sales on December 4th while Christie’s will be on the 5th. If you need any additional information about American Art Week in New York, please let us know. 

Results……….

It was a great week for American Art. The 3 auction houses combined for a total of over 160 million dollars. Sotheby's broke the prior Norman Rockwell record with the Saying Grace painting. It sold for an incredible 46 million dollars including buyer's premium. Christie's broke the prior Edward Hopper record with East Wind Over Weehawken. It sold for 40 million dollars including buyers premium. Bonhams had 2 Norman Rockwell paintings that sold for 3 times the estimates. The Rockwell painting titled Girl Choosing Hat went for 1.2 million dollars including buyer's premium. Overall an impressive week for all three auction houses.

Chinese Antique Market Is Booming!!!!

This past week was Fall Asia Week in New York City. Most of the major auction houses in Manhattan had Asian exhibitions and auctions. Many different types of Asian antiques were being sold. These included scrolls, bronzes, jade, porcelain and much more. All Asian auctions did very well and exceeded most of the estimates. However, the biggest surprises came from the Chinese items. The auction results proved that the Chinese market is booming.

The New York City auctions had many highlights. An 18th century white jade ewer sold for close to 3 million dollars!!!! The ewer was only estimated between $20,000- $30,000. A large 18th century Famille Rose vase sold for over 1.5 million dollars, which was nearly double the estimate.

Another group of items that sold at high prices was snuff bottles. The most popular snuff bottles were made of jade. However, the 2 bottles that went for the highest prices were not jade. The 1st was a rare inside painted glass snuff bottle from the early 20th century that sold for over $80,000. The 2nd was a rare painted enamel snuff bottle from the 18th century that sold for over $230,000.

Although these auctions took place in New York, it was obvious that the items were being sold to people living in Asia. The phone and internet buyers were doing the majority of bidding. Those who were actually on the auction floor bidding in New York were representing International buyers. They had earpieces on that were connected to cell phones. They were simply working for International Asian buyers.

The Chinese sold an abundance of rare antiquities to the United States many years ago. Now they are buying all those antiquities back. The wealthy Asian buyers seem to have no regard for cost.

It is not clear how long it will last, but right now the Chinese antique market is the hottest it has ever been. If you have any questions about Asia Week, please let us know. If you have an Asian item you were thinking of putting in auction, but need assistance, contact us. We work with the major Manhattan auction houses and can help you expedite the process. We also have NYC Chinese antique gallery owners that will pay top dollar for the rare pieces.