London auctions to feature Chinese antiques

Song Dynasty (960-1279) ceramics, Buddhist sculptures, and Chinese export porcelain are among the highlights of the upcoming Asian art auctions in London.

A gilt-bronze seated bodhisattva figure will be among items at Christie’s Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale on May 14. The auction house said the figure likely represents Guanyin. The sculpture is seated in the royal ease posture and experts describe it as a magnificent piece of Buddhist art.

“This bronze figure is special for a number of reasons, such as the period it was made and the pose,” said Marco Almeida, senior international specialist of the Chinese Department at Christie’s. “These figures always have a different expression and this is something the artist really paid a lot of attention to.”

Almeida expects the piece to appeal to buyers of masterpieces and to those interested in Buddhist art. The estimate for the figure is between 300,000 pounds and 500,000 pounds ($400,000-$650,000).

Christie’s is also offering a finely painted Yixing brush pot from the Yixing kilns of southern Jiangsu province, which has the seal of the artist Yang Jichu.

A large ding “fish” basin with an estimate of 1.2 million pounds from the Northern Song Dynasty is another highlight of the sale. The ceramic bowl’s interior is decorated with a fish and covered with an even ivory-white glaze with the exception of the mouth rim.

Such large vessels are rare among ding ware and posed a particular challenge to the potters and kiln masters, according to Christie’s. The piece is said to show the skill of the Northern Song craftsmen who made it.

Almeida added that the auction house has seen a growing interest of Song Dynasty ceramics from new collectors, mainly from the Chinese mainland.

Sotheby’s cover lot is a rare Jun foliate-rim vase dating to the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). It is described as one of the most complex and memorable forms created in the Jun kilns before the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Cherrei Tian, Sotheby’s Chinese ceramics and works of art specialist, said: “Song ceramics, with their elegant and contemporary aesthetic, continue to be highly sought-after among collectors.”

The vase is expected to fetch between 500,000 pounds and 700,000 pounds when it goes on sale on May 15.

A Southern Song Dynasty vase with patterns mimicking the markings on a sika deer and a provenance dating back to Sotheby’s sale in New York in 1984, is expected to fetch 300,000 pounds at Sotheby’s Important Chinese Art sale.

KIM HONG-JI / REUTERS Boys who are experiencing the lives of Buddhist monks by staying in a temple for two weeks as novice monks, enjoy a ride at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, on Thursday.