A Yuan dynasty blue and white bowl with provenance from the TT Tsui Museum of Art was the top lot at an Asian art auction in New York on March 22.
The 14th century ceramic bowl, which measures 12 inches in diameter, features a classical motif of Mandarin ducks in a lotus pond. It was sold to an in-house bidder for $128,100, comfortably within its $120,000-150,000 pre-sale estimate.
 A Yuan dynasty bowl sold for $128,100 |
A 16th century Chinese Ming dynasty Wanli-era round box, featuring a domed cover and decorated with depictions of dragons, brought $54,900, also within its estimate of $50,000-60,000.
A large Chinese spinach jade brushpot sold for $73,200 against a $40,000-60,000 pre-sale estimate. The vessel, which features a landscape scene of groups of scholars playing chess amid bamboo, pine and rockery, attracted rapid-fire bidding with eleven phone lines on the ready as the lot was introduced.
Isodore MM Chait, founder of the auction house, said of the sale: "The market for Asian art, especially Chinese, is not even slowing down," adding: "The appetite for good things is voracious".
The sale, which raised a total of $2.1m, took place as part of New York's Asia Week (March 16-24), a collaboration between auction houses, Asian cultural institutions, Asian art specialists and museums.
A number of important works have starred during the week, including a 12th to 13th century handscroll featuring three separate fan leaves. The scroll sold for $5.68m at Sotheby's, 468% over its $1m estimate.
