JAPANESE TREASURES GO SKY HIGH AT SUMMER SALE

Posted on 21st August 2015

A large collection of Japanese works of art have made headline figures at our Summer Antiques Sale with some items reaching four to five times their price estimates. 

Central to the sale was a collection of around 20 Japanese okimonos; many dating from the Meiji era, which spanned the first half of the Japanese Empire from 1868 to 1912. These intricately carved ornaments mainly depict individual figures or scenes and were often produced specifically for export to the West during this period. Lot 376 – portraying a fisherman holding a net with a child at his feet – was one such example that went way above its price estimate of £200-£300, selling for £800. 

Another star of the auction was lot 374, comprising two Meiji Japanese carvings of crabs, each with finely articulated legs, claws, pincers and eyes. They were finally knocked down for £1,100 - far in excess of their £200-£300 valuation. 

Other notable results were the sale of a fine Japanese tsuitate (a type of low, free-standing screen) that sold for £1,100 and a pair of Japanese bronze figures, each signed Miyao and Miyao Chuzu that finally went for £1,600. 

These results certainly reflect a buoyancy within the oriental market at the moment, making it an excellent time to consign items of Chinese and Japanese origins.

A large collection of Japanese works of art have made headline figures at our Summer Antiques Sale with some items reaching four to five times their price estimates. 

Central to the sale was a collection of around 20 Japanese okimonos; many dating from the Meiji era, which spanned the first half of the Japanese Empire from 1868 to 1912. These intricately carved ornaments mainly depict individual figures or scenes and were often produced specifically for export to the West during this period. Lot 376 – portraying a fisherman holding a net with a child at his feet – was one such example that went way above its price estimate of £200-£300, selling for £800. 

Another star of the auction was lot 374, comprising two Meiji Japanese carvings of crabs, each with finely articulated legs, claws, pincers and eyes. They were finally knocked down for £1,100 - far in excess of their £200-£300 valuation. 

Other notable results were the sale of a fine Japanese tsuitate (a type of low, free-standing screen) that sold for £1,100 and a pair of Japanese bronze figures, each signed Miyao and Miyao Chuzu that finally went for £1,600. 

These results certainly reflect a buoyancy within the oriental market at the moment, making it an excellent time to consign items of Chinese and Japanese origins.