Sales Total Over $1.1 Million at Cowan's Inaugural Asian Art Auction August 26-27 The auction was held over two days, on Friday and Saturday August 26th and
27th, and featured 796 lots. Over the two days 2,115 bidders participated from
15 countries. Of the winning bidders, 73%
News-Antique.com - Aug 29,2011 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2011
Asian Art Auction
SALE: 8/26/11 8 AM EDT, 8/27/11 8 AM EDT
Cowan's Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio
Editors: For High Resolution Photographs, please contact Katie Monroe.
Sales Total Over $1.1 Million at Cowan's Inaugural Asian Art Auction
August 26-27
CINCINNATI – Cowan's is thrilled to announce that its first auction dedicated
solely to Asian Art was a huge success. With sales coming in at $1,116,846.25,
Wes Cowan and staff could not be happier.
"We are delighted with the results of our first Asian art auction. It
validated for us the strength of the market for quality Asian antiques. This
was a learning experience and believe me, we learned a lot."
-Wes Cowan, President and Principal Auctioneer
"We are quite pleased with the results of our inauguaral Asian art sale."
- Michelle Johnson, Specialist - Fine and Decorative Art
The auction was held over two days, on Friday and Saturday August 26th and
27th, and featured 796 lots. Over the two days 2,115 bidders participated from
15 countries. Of the winning bidders, 73% bid online and 11% bid on the floor
in Cowan's salesroom; the percentage of absentee and phone winning-bidders tied
at 8% each. The sell-through rate of the sale was 15.7%. Of the lots sold,
37.5% sold over estimate. The biggest seller was a Chinese Bronze Standing
Buddha that came in at a whopping $102,000 (with buyers premium); sixty-eight
times its estimate of $1,000/1500.
Graydon Sikes, Specialist of Fine Art at Cowan's, commented, "There were lots
of surprises - big, expensive ones."
The sale included a wide selection of ivory, jade and porcelain, prints,
Chinese furniture, scroll paintings, and reference material. Highlights of the
sale included a Sino-Tibetan Bronze Buddha, a Pair of Chinese White Jade
Pendants, a Chinese Republic Period Ivory Wrist Rest with Polychrome Insects, a
Chinese Carved Jade Duck Seated on a Lotus Flower, a Japanese Cloisonné Vase,
Chinese Carved Ivory Vases on Stands and a Gilt Bronze Buddha.
The sale's highest selling lot was a Chinese Bronze Standing Buddha which
brought $102,000, sixty-eight times its estimate of $1,000/1,500. It is a
bronze of a Buddha, with traces of gilt and dark red paint, standing on a lotus
flower.
A Chinese Republic Period Ivory Wrist Rest with Polychrome Insects sold for
$47,000, over twice its estimate of $15,000/20,000. This carved double wrist
rest, when closed, takes the form of a bamboo shaft.
A lot of Chinese White Jade Pendants realized $49,937.50, over ninety-nine
times its estimate of $300/500. The lot comprised two carved white jade
pendants; the first a rectangular pendant with one side carved with a horse
with two riders talking to two men in a cart, and the other side with
calligraphy. The other pendant is carved with a bird and flowers in a basket.
A Sino-Tibetan Bronze Buddha sold for $54,000 - over thirteen times its
estimate of $2,000/4,000. Of Sino-Tibetan origin, this is a finely cast bronze
Buddha with red and blue decoration, atop a lotus base.
