Ancient art up for auction
Modern ink-wash paintings and calligraphy, ancient books, purple-clay teapots, Buddhist statues and ancient bronze mirrors will go under hammer at the 2019 Shanghai Council Autumn Auction on Thursday at Regal International East Asia Hotel.
Some heavyweight names include Lu Yanshao (1909-1993), Pan Tianshou (1897-1971) and Huang Binhong (1865-1955).
Among them, the highlight of the modern ink-wash painting and calligraphy section is Lu’s “Plum Tree” and “Deep River.”
“Plum Tree” is one of Lu’s largest paintings to have appeared at auctions in the past few years while “Deep River” was painted in his late years that the artist merged cloud, mountain, tree and stones into a whole on the rice paper.
Another highlight is the Buddhist statues. Buddhism spread in China in the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) from India. Buddhist paintings and statues collided with Chinese traditional culture to form a new style. During the Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern dynasties (AD 220-581), many Chinese temples hired craftsmen to carve Buddhist statues in stone. Postures or facial expressions changed during different periods.
Chinese ancient bronze mirrors have become popular at auctions recently. They are some of the most important ancient Chinese bronzes with a long history. About 200 mirrors will be at the auction with some dating back to the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).
Auction detail
Date: December 17-18, 9am-6pm (preview); December 19, from 9am (auction)
Venue: Regal International East Asia Hotel
Address: 516 Hengshan Rd
A Buddhist statue from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is one of the lots up for auction.
Lu Yanshao's "Plum Tree" will go on sale at the auction on Thursday.
