Result
ASIAN WEEK TOTALS OVER 4.5 MILLION EUROS 

From November 26 to December 1, 2021, at Aguttes, the historical leader in the market for artists from Asia, the Asia Week was held. Three quality auctions were held on November 29 and 30 as well as on December 1 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. They totaled €4,584,000. The white glove sale Painters of Asia set two new world records.

31st Asian Painters auction, Major works, Monday, November 29, 2021 
"The great lacquer master Phạm Hậu totals €1.47 million with, in particular, a lacquer, whose auction equals the one presented by Aguttes last June 7 for a similar subject.Lê Phổ totaled €407,000 and Vũ Cao Đàm totaled €409,500. This is thanks in particular to the magnificent world record obtained for an oil on canvas by the artist at €169,000."
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, expert in Asian painters



Top 5 of the Asian painters auction 
16 - PHAM HAU (1903-1995) – 833 000 €
19 - LUONG XUAN NHI (1913-2006) - 539 520 €
18 - PHAM HAU (1903-1995) - 405 540 €
21 - Alix AYMÉ (1894-1989) - 309 840 €
20 - PHAM HAU (1903-1995) - 233 280 €
 

A key artist and craftsman of 20th century Vietnam, Phạm Hậu single-handedly embodies the artistic revival of lacquerware, long considered a craft. He contributed to the recognition of this technique as a true art. A remarkable set of lacquers by Phạm Hậu, showing the breadth of his talents, and providing an introduction to the various themes dear to the artist, totaled €1.47 million. Among them, Paysage aux jonques ranked as the 3rd world record. Mainly inspired by the representation of landscapes and forests but also of animals, his lacquers are collected by European and Vietnamese amateurs.

Phạm Hậu (1903-1995)
Paysage aux jonques
Vendu 833 000 euros
3e record mondial le 29.11.2021



Vietnamese painting celebrates women and their grace regardless of their social status. Four portraits of women by Lê Phổ, Lương Xuân Nhị, Vũ Cao Đàm and Alix Aymé bear witness to the evolution of the treatment of this subject over the decades. The universe of each of these unmissable artists have captured the full attention of enthusiasts. After a bidding war, a portrait by Alix Aymé (lot 21) was sold for 309 840 €. This is the second world record for the artist, the first being held by Aguttes. Alix Aymé's works are the meeting point between the style of the Nabis, who influenced her, and traditional Vietnamese painting, for which she is fond of. If the Portrait of Thi Ba is different from the classical creations, it uses all the typical codes of compositional works where attention is paid to every detail.  As a former student of Maurice Denis, Alix Aymé adopts a Nabi palette in which colors blossom joyfully while maintaining a certain harmony. The carmine red, peach pink and water green of the hangings mingle with the off-white of the shirt, delicately bringing out the black of the pants and the midnight-blue highlights of the hair. This work is awarded the second world record for an oil on canvas by the artist, the first being already held by the House of Aguttes for a work dispersed in a sale last June.





Alix Aymé (1894-1989)
Portrait de Thi Ba, circa 1935
Sold 309 840 euros
2nd world record the 29.11.2021



The catalog for this auction featured three works (lots 17, 22, and 26) by Lê Phổ that totaled €407,000. Jeune femme au lotus et à l'éventail, meanwhile, landed €207,760. Jeune fille à la colombe, an oil on canvas by Lương Xuân Nhị, also tells the story of the developments facing Vietnam. The protagonist wears the latest fashionable clothes, an ao dai, and a hairstyle without a turban; she moves in an upper class environment as evidenced by her earrings and elegant outfit. "The Master of Greens," an avid follower of oil painting offers, here, an ode to love, which won, with €539,520, the world record for an oil on canvas by Lương Xuân Nhị.





Lương Xuân Nhị (1913-2006)
Jeune fille à la colombe, circa 1938
Sold 539 520 euros



Another world record, this time for an oil on canvas by Vũ Cao Đàm, with Les musiciennes (lot 23), which scored €169,000. Born in Hanoi, Vũ Cao Đàm is also one of those artists to have made his home in the South of France, a veritable land of exile appreciated by 20th-century artists. Although valedictorian in the sculpture department, the artist gradually made painting his favorite expression. The full and round forms recall, here, his first predilection for sculpture.




Vũ Cao Đàm (1908-2000)
Les musiciennes, 1963
Sold 169 000 euros




Arts of Asia, The Sagacity of the Dragon, Tuesday, November 30, 2021 



Top 5 of the Asian Arts auction 
180 - Chine, marque et période Daoguang (1820-1850) - 127 400 €
204 - Chine, période Jiajing (1521-1567) - 78 000 €
262 - Chine, période Qing - 63 200 €
350 - Chine, période Kangxi  - 39 000 €
106 - Vietnam, vers 1900 - 25 000 €



The highest bid was for a pair of Cong vases (lot 180), a testament to Chinese craftsmanship, which thrilled connoisseurs to the tune of €127,400, tripling its estimate. These Cong porcelain vases, dating from the Daoguang period (1820-1850), came from the L.C. Collection.




China, mark and Daoguang period (1820-1850)
Pair of Cong vases in porcelain and celadon crackled enamel of Ge type
Daoguang mark in zhuanshu on the base.
H. 28,5 cm
Sold 127 400 euros


 

This large white porcelain bowl (lot 204), which features underglaze Huiqing blue enamel decoration, features two winged Ying sea dragons chasing the sacred jewel. This porcelain, from the Victor Segalen Collection (1878-1919), provoked another bidding battle up to €78,000 and thus quadrupled its estimate. A naval doctor, but also a novelist, poet, sinologist and even archaeologist, this collector made several expeditions to China in the early 20th century before settling there. On this occasion, he discovered a passion for Orientalist art, which he collected. This large white porcelain basin with blue enamel decoration from the Jiajing period (16th century), which served as a bathtub for his grandson, was one of the unusual objects in this sale. 

China, Jiajing period (1521-1567)
Large white porcelain bowl, with blue enamelled decoration called Huiqing 
H. 33,5 - D. 71,5 cm
Provenance: Victor Segalen Collection (1878-1919)
Sold 78 000 euros



Another memorable hammer blow was €63 200 for an octagonal enameled porcelain baluster vase (lot 262). More than 10 times its estimate...
A perfume burner (lot 350) from China also attracted a lot of interest from bidders. After a long battle, it scored 39 000 € and thus multiplied its estimate by six. Another perfume burner (lot 106) from Vietnam also stood out and found a buyer at €25,000.






China, Qing period
An octagonal celadon enameled porcelain baluster vase with a cracked mark
Daoguang on the base in zhuangshu.
H. 33 cm
Sold 63 200 euros



Singular collection of the explorer Louis Audemard, a naval officer active in Asia in the 1900s, on Wednesday 1 December 2021


On December 1, 2021, the Aguttes auction house auctioned a singular collection, that of Commander Louis Théophile Audemard (1865-1955). A naval officer who was active in Asia in the 1900s, he had assembled, in a Chinese salon in the family castle, most of the objects brought back from his many trips.





Korea 16th century - Choson
Gold lacquered wooden subject, representing the Buddha seated in meditation, his eyes half closed expressing serenity.
H. 26,5 cm
Sold 29 900 euros


A Buddha (lot 119) provoked a fierce bidding battle and fetched €29,900.
Captain of the Frigate and Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1912, Louis Audemard had collected gilded wood, Chinese textiles, Vietnamese weapons, bronzes, paintings, trinkets and many other objects of curiosity from China, Japan and Southeast Asia. 150 pieces full of history and exoticism were offered for auction, and this sale, which closed the Asia Week at Aguttes, saw 82% of its lots sold.




Sales in preparation 

Asian Painters, Major Works [32]
March 14, 2022

Asian Painters Expert
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier
+33 1 41 92 06 49 - reynier@aguttes.com

Voir la page du département spécialisé
Recevoir les newsletters

•

Asian Arts 
Chine, Japon, Corée & Vietnam
April 8, 2022

Asian Arts Specialist  
Johanna Blancard de Léry
+33 1 47 45 00 90 - delery@aguttes.com      

Voir la page du département spécialisé
Recevoir les newsletters