London – The combined total of Bonhams London Asia Week sales hit more than £9.3 million this May across Bonhams New Bond Street and Knightsbridge salerooms. The top lot from across the week was a magnificent gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Yongle mark and of the period (1403-1424), which sold for £806,700 in the Fine Chinese Art sale on Thursday 18 May, against a pre-sale estimate of £300,000-500,000. This was closely followed by a rare and important Imperial court painting of the Bannerman Te'er Deng Che, Qianlong, dated by inscription to 1788 and of the period, which sold for £781,500, nearly four times the estimate of £200,000-300,000.

There was a strong start to the week with Bonhams' Asian Art sale which took place across Monday and Tuesday (15-16 May) at Bonhams Knightsbridge, with the sale making a total of £2.01million – double the pre-sale total estimate. The sale saw a carved and pierced white jade 'dragon' plaque from the Ming Dynasty achieve £65,820, over 26 times its pre-sale estimate of £2,500-3,000.

The success then continued on Wednesday (17 May) at New Bond Street, with the exceptional collection of Michael Goedhuis: Brush & Bronze. The 97-lot sale was 99% sold, with 70% of the sale selling above high estimate. The sale made a total of £2.08million, more than twice the pre-sale total estimate, with the top lot Landscape, 2010-2011 by Li Huayi (b.1948), selling for £277,500. From the bronze section of the sale, a rare and important silver-inlaid bronze figure of Guanyin, dating to the late Ming Dynasty was amongst the highlights, selling for £214,500.

Concluding the week was Bonhams' Fine Chinese Art on Thursday 18 May at New Bond Street. The impressive 212-lot sale was 85% sold by lot, achieving a total of £5.28million – twice the pre-sale total estimate, with superb results across the board, including early jades and Imperial porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Asaph Hyman, Bonhams Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, commented: "We are delighted with the results of London Asia Week sales. There were superb all round results from early and 'medieval' to Qing jades to imperial paintings, early Ming gilt bronze figures, Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, contemporary ink paintings and later bronzes, demonstrating the robustness of the Chinese art market and the unsated demand for the very rarest works of art. We are now looking ahead to our Hong Kong and Paris sales on 29 May and 13 June."

19 May 2023