"This sale totaled more than €5 million and we sold all the lots, each with a very good performance in the end. Eighteen of the 45 lots in the catalog sold for more than €100,000, and seven for more than €200,000.
We are also pleased with the fine bids for artists who, just a few years ago, did not attract the interest of collectors. An artist like Lê Thị Lựu illustrates this perfectly with two high-flying auctions that saw estimates multiply by 10."
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, Asian painters expert

Mai Trung Thứ (1906-1980)
L'école, 1953
Ink and colors on silk, signed and dated lower left
45.5 x 54 cm - 17 7/8 x 21 1/4 in.
In the original frame made by the artist
Result : 462 960 €


 

Invention of artist Trần Tần Lộc (1906-1968) 
The Aguttes auction house has, once again, made a new advance in the knowledge of early 20th century painting with the discovery of a very fine quality ink and colors on silk entitled Jeune élégante se coiffant. Its finesse of execution attests to the talent of its author, who for some unknown reason did not pursue his activity in painting. Research conducted in conjunction with Vietnamese historians around the presentation for the sale of this rare painting dated 1932 now makes it possible to officially restore to Trần Tấn Lộc the authorship of many works that the international art market had previously attributed to Trần Bình Lộc (1914-1941). Born in 1906, Trần Tấn Lộc worked in the 1950s as an illustrator at Fine arts Cooperative in Hanoi. A presumed portrait of his younger brother's wife, Jeune élégante se coiffant is the only work known to date, done by the artist in ink and color on silk, a particular technique taught at the Indochina School of Fine Arts around 1930. Brought to France by a Vietnamese collector in the 1950s, the work has remained there ever since. Unique and masterful, the work reached €335,360 after a long bidding battle and thus becomes the world record of the artist.

Trần Tần Lộc (1906-1968)
Jeune élégante se coiffant, 1932
Ink and colors on silk, signed and dated lower left, titled and signed upper right.
The work is in its original frame. A label on the back "Au régal des yeux. Workshop of decorators. 6 Bd Gia - Long. Hanoi"
76 x 53 cm - 29 7/8 x 20 7/8 in.
Result : 335 360 euros, 1st world record for the artist 

 

Collections sales are highly successful 
The collection of Mrs. K, a lifelong friend of artists who trained at the Indochina School of Fine Arts and live in France, such as Lê Phổ, Vũ Cao Đàm or Lê Thị Lựu, flies to 951 360€.
The sale of the collection of Dr. V, totaled 424,380€, and that of Mr. and Mrs. D, whose father was a close friend of Vũ Cao Đàm, reached for these four remarkable sculptures an amount of 318,500€.

 Lê Phổ (1907-2001)
Jeune fille aux fleurs de pêcher 
Oil, ink and gouache on silk, signed lower right
71 x 44.5 cm - 27 7/8 x 17 1/2 in. 
Result : 149 050 euros

 
Another highlight of the auction was the sale of the private collection of a descendant of Emperor Minh Mạng of the Nguyễn Phuoc dynasty, totaling €744,345. A diplomat and now international businessman, Dr. D. began his collection in the 2000s. Long before the art market craze, he focused on pivotal works from the early years of these painters in the West. Among the works in this collection was an iconic work: Jeunes filles aux fleurs de pêchers by Lê Phổ (lot 15), which flew to €149,050

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ASIAN PAINTERS, MAJOR WORKS