Pond Life and other surprises

My recent newsletter from Sotheby's Hong Kong showed these amongst a number of Chinese works of art that had been sold at auction. Taking an exchange rate of HKD7.8 to USD1, this means the first picture achieved just over USD2m, and the second nearly USD4.25m.

In anyone's book these are staggering results, highlighted perhaps by the increase over estimate. They are reflecting what I have written about for Chinese art, (the C19th Chinese School picture and the 18th century Qianlong porcelain vase), that the prices are beginning to look ridiculous, in my opinion. Like so much in China, there appears to be a bubble forming, a concern being shared in equity markets, which are beginning to worry about the impact of that bubble bursting in so many sectors, including the general economy, but in housing too.

Bund-aba

(Chinese, active 1850-1885), View of the Bund at Shanghai, circa 1855, unsigned, oil on canvas, 20-3/4 x 37-1/4 in.; original reticulated Chinese Export frame. The palette of brown and blue and the minute detail of the brushwork suggest the hand of Chow Kwa, who was noted for his remarkable versatility and attention to fine detail. It is thought that Chow Kwa set up a studio in Shanghai in 1855, which is also approximately when this painting was executed. It depicts the Customs House as it appeared with renovated wings following damage incurred during The Sword Rebellion. To the far right is the British Consulate. To the right of the center is the Augustine Heard & Co. building, to which was added an imposing third story around 1854. The river is busy with various types of shipping vessels including an American steamer to the left. Acquired in China, this painting was brought back to the United States by Thomas Peck Bucklin (see lot 0288) on the clipper ship [Comet] sometime between 1854 and 1863. Bucklin was co-owner (Bucklin & Crane, New York) of the ship, which made a record passage from Liverpool to Hong Kong in 1854.

Sold at Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC for USD420,000.00 from a starting price of USD50,000 and a top estimate of USD90,000. Chinese art of whatever medium is seeing some remarkable prices.

Going East

We're off to Japan, to visit the historic city of Kanazawa in Honshu, (above is Kanazawa Castle),

via Hong Kong above. This C19th Chinese oil on canvas was sold at auction on Sunday for USD20,000, (a lot more than I was prepared to pay, considering craquelure, and the application of the canvas to board, making restoration difficult). In the same auction the picture below, of the Bund at Shanghai was also for sale, and achieved USD20,000. It too has restoration challenges, not unlike the Hong Kong picture. The auction details suggested it was painted by George Chinnery, but there is no signature, so it is doubtful.

A break in routine, a respite from the renovation project, and a cooling of the temperature, (both literally and figuratively) very much welcomed.

Detail devil

The "right" height.

Previous installation.

The brown paper cut-out method.

In progress.


I mentioned previously that I was not altogether happy with the initial height of the two China Trade pictures, (which were hung using the existing screws for other pictures). The initial placement wasn't hideously wrong, but it just wasn't quite "right", a comment I made several times to my partner, which resulted in a refrain of expletives.

So finally on Friday, feeling calm, I put into place my brown paper cut-outs of the pictures at the height I thought they really should be: aligned with the top of the framed Chinoiserie wallpaper. Perfect. It does two things: raises the eye, and therefore the height of the ceiling, and two, removes the obviously uneven distance that existed between the bottom of the picture and the yellow cachepots. Well, actually three things. The bottom of the picture is now also aligned with the bottom of the lampshades.

Oh, the trials of symmetry, (and anality?). The devil is in the details.

Hung, drawn and painted

The China Trade pictures that I bought late last year and mentioned here, have finally been reframed and are up on the wall.

In a recent discussion on Style Court I expressed an opinion that I'd always prefer to see pictures framed, however minimally. Normally my approach to frames is that they should be very extravagant, but in order not to detract from the simple gold bamboo frame of the Chinoiserie wallpaper in the centre of the dining room wall, I have chosen a more modest approach this time.

I drew inspiration from commentators - for which many thanks, but I decided that I wanted a reference to the red lacquer chairs, so I've used gold and a predominantly deeper, darker red, (perhaps the "burnished" red suggested by Toby Worthington), with black outline.

I haven't quite decided whether I'm satisfied with the height of the pictures, but I will live with them as they are, and then decide; no need to give the walls that Gaza treatment anymore than they already have.

Playing with new toys

Apart from the obvious need to change the height, these are the two newly acquired Chinese School pictures. It's strange how pictures dramatically alter the feel of a room, and these two, in place of the C18th French architectural prints are no exception.

The oils, although in their original frames, will need to be re-framed, as I find the black too heavy, and too detracting from the simple gold bamboo frame around the Chinoiserie wallpaper fragment. (I will however not dispose of them, because I suspect they will have intrinsic value, and if they were ever put up for auction, would probably add to their value; interestingly I note other Chinese School pictures auctioned at Sotheby's had very similar frames - see below.)

My inclination is to go for something very simple in gold, but this decision making process is all part of the enjoyment of playing with new toys.

They were framed...

...by somebody else, in the C19th.

Trading places

This pair of C19th China Trade pictures are the latest acquisition to my growing collection of art, from an auction in Chicago. Having lived for many years in Hong Kong these are a period and style that I have coveted for many years. In a previous life I worked for a financial institution which owns one of the largest collections of George Chinnery (1774-1852) oils, some of which are not dissimilar to these.

I have not yet taken delivery of these beauties, but I shall be searching them to see if that name, (or indeed any) is penned in the bottom corner of the canvas. With or without a signature, these are truly evocative of my early life, (not that I lived in the C19th), but seeing pictures of this genre, and I anticipate their arrival with a great deal of excitement, not least because of my experience with two potential shipping companies.

It would be reassuring if the shipping company could understand that Thailand is 12 hours ahead of Chicago, so that the telephone call from them at 2.30 this morning had not taken place. Funnily enough it is the third middle-of-the-night call I've had from a business in the United States, so the lack of knowledge of geography and time differences is a little worrying. Still I suppose at least this shipper, (unlike UPS), didn't think that Thailand and Bangkok were two different countries.