First Asian Weeks of the year
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European precursor on the market of artists from Asia, Aguttes organized, from Thursday February 16 to March 9, 2023, its quarterly highlight, the Asian Weeks, which totaled 1 863 248 €
« Our main concern is to defend the interests of sellers, private collectors. Our Asian Weeks are designed to allow them to have access to an ultra-professional service, and to obtain high prices, while enjoying the comfort and security of a sale close to home. Thanks to our experience in this sector, international bidders benefit from access to works of art adapted to their requirements and according to the timing that suits them. They have confidence in our work and the world records we set in Paris attest to the quality of this service. »
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, expert
Asian painter, Major works
Top 5
1 - Lot 8 - MAI TRUNG THU (1906-1980), Mother and Sleeping Child, 1944 - 462 960 €*
2 - Lot 6 - LÊ PHÔ (1907-2001), Meditation, circa 1940 - 271 560 €
3 - Lot 13 - LÊ PHO (1907-2001), The two sisters - 127 400 €
4 - Lot 16 - LUONG XUAN NHI (1914-2006), Preparation of the Tet festival - 104 000 €
5 - Lot 14 - MAI TRUNG THU (1906-1980), The hairstyle, 1958 - 91 000 €
See the full results* of the auction
Faithful to the rendezvous, the amateurs have notably thrown their devotion on the works of Mai Trung Thứ. Having abandoned the oil painting of his beginnings, Mai Trung Thứ mastered, for a long time, painting on silk; he applied the color that he then softened by successive washes. Characteristic of the artist's style during 1944, Mother and Sleeping Child, (lot 8) fetched 462 960 €. Created for the artist's second exhibition in Algiers at the Galerie Pasteur, this work comes from the Guiauchain collection, a famous dynasty of architects from Algiers. The Guiauchain family had a sincere friendship with the imperial family and kept several Asian objects or furniture. The presence of this silk in the family collection attests to the strong ties maintained between them and the Annam family. Indeed, the princess of Annam would be at the origin of the presence of this magnificent silk in the Guiauchain collection. Collection in which the work has been preserved until today!
Lot 8
MAI TRUNG THỨ (1906-1980)
Mother and Sleeping Child, 1944
Ink and colors on silk, signed and dated lower right, titled on back
54,6 x 45,2 cm
PROVENANCE
Pasteur Art Gallery, Algiers-Oran, Algeria Presumed collection of the Princess of Annam, wife of Emperor Hàm Nghi (1871 - 1944), Villa Gia Long, Algiers Collection of the famous dynasty of Algerian architects Guiauchain, Algiers (most probably received from the former in the late 1940s, brought back to France in 1962) Private collection, South-East of France, 1987 (by descent from the previous owner)
EXHIBITION
1944, Algeria, Algiers-Oran, Art Gallery Pasteur, Exhibition Maï Thu, Le Pho,
Vu Cao Dam, Indochinese Paintings, n° 21, titled « Maternité »
Another work by Mai Trung Thứ (lot 14) particularly caught the attention of connoisseurs, despite its very small format: The hairstyle, 1958 thus obtained €91,000.
Lot 14
MAI TRUNG THỨ (1906-1980)
The hairstyle, 1958
Ink and colors on silk, signed and dated lower left. In its original frame made by the artist
22 x 20,4 cm
A certificate of inclusion in the catalog raisonné of the artist currently in preparation by Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier for the Association des Artistes d'Asie à Paris will be given to the buyer.
PROVENANCE
Private collection, France
Another artist who generates a real buzz with each sale is Lê Phổ! A graduate of the same class at the Indochina School of Fine Arts as Mai Trung Thứ. Lê Phổ's training blends Eastern and Western artistic traditions to perfection. Meditation (lot 6), circa 1940, will have caught the attention of connoisseurs and scored 271 560 €. The 1940s illustrate his pictorial style to perfection, and as this ink and colors on silk testifies, the artist captures the essence of Western culture that he skilfully manages to integrate with Far Eastern traditions. Everything in this composition invites contemplation: Tonkinese mountains set the scene, and the viewer's eye gets lost in them while lingering on the delicacy of the roses.
Lot 6 - LÊ PHỔ (1907-2001)
Meditation, circa 1940
Ink and colors on silk
27,7 x 24,2 cm
PROVENANCE
1942-1944, Algiers, Galerie d'art Pasteur, Exhibition Mai Thu, Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam, Indo-Chinese Paintings
Private collection, Algiers (acquired from previous owner)
Private collection, South-East of France (by descent from the previous one at the end of the XXth century)
Two more fine bids for Lê Phổ (1907-2001), with The Two Sisters (lot 13)and The Girl and the Seringas (lot 18), circa 1977. 127 400 and 65 000 € each rewarded them. These three works synthesize the pictorial evolution of the artist's work over the years.
Lot 13
LÊ PHỔ (1907-2001)
The Two Sisters
Oil on silk mounted on isorel, signed lower right
73.5 x 50.1 cm
A certificate of inclusion in the catalog raisonné of the artist currently in preparation by Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier for the Association des Artistes d'Asie à Paris will be given to the buyer.
PROVENANCE
Gallery Findlay, Chicago, USA Private collection, United States (acquired from previous owner)
Private collection, United States then France (acquired from the previous owner in the 1990s)
Private collection, France (by descent in 2001)
Lương Xuân Nhị, an important figure in the history of twentieth-century Vietnamese art, appeared Preparation for the Tet Festival (lot 16). The artist operates, in his work, a strange and graceful mixture between Vietnamese and Western themes and techniques, attesting to his time at the Indochina School of Fine Arts and the influence of the precepts received then.
Lot 16
LƯƠNG XUÂN NHỊ (1913-2006)
Preparation for the Tet Festival Ink and colors on silk, signed lower left
35,5 x 49 cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Hanoi (acquired from the artist)
Private collection, France (gift from the previous owner around 1980)
Known for his impressionistic landscapes and realistic social scenes, Lương Xuân Nhị, through the use of a soft chromatic range, and the delicate touch characteristic of his work, manages to give his compositions great depth while retaining a traditional charm. This work, which received 104 000 €, illustrates a strong traditional time: the Lunar New Year. On this occasion, the north of the country is adorned with peach blossoms that symbolize happiness and good health. Nude from behind (lot 5) shows Sanyu's taste for working on paper, a medium on which he expresses the great mastery of his gesture. His early training in calligraphy gives him an obvious ease with this medium, translated by the grace and simplicity of his gesture. Sold at 27 300 €, this ink on paper, with its sober forms and iconography, has all the characteristics of the Chinese master of modern art.
Lot 5
SANYU (1895-1966)
Nude from behind
Ink on paper, signed in the middle right
43,8 x 27 cm
PROVENANCE
Collection Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris
Private collection, Île-de-France
Since the early 2000s, a number of retrospectives have been dedicated to him at the international level and the art market has finally recognized Sanyu's work, which is regularly presented for sale at Aguttes, the leading European auction house for the artist
ASIAN ARTS: Vietnam, Chine, Japon
Top 3
2 - Lot 212 – China - Transitional period, mid-17th century - Two vases, 37 700 €
3 - Lot 26 – Japan - Meiji period (1868 - 1912), Amida Buddha sculpture, 16 900 €
See the full results of the auction
« This auction confirmed the stability of the Chinese market for quality pieces, but also a clear revival of interest in exceptional Japanese pieces. Finally, the Vietnamese market continued to show great dynamism, as demonstrated by the presence of many new buyers. »
Clémentine Guyot, head of the Asian Arts department
This auction celebrated the plurality of Asian cultures, honoring the Far East through a beautiful set of Japanese and Chinese furniture, but also Southeast Asia with pieces from Burmese, Timorese and Vietnamese traditions.
Lot 37
CHINA MING DYNASTY, 15th - 16th CENTURY
Important bronze statue with brown patina representing the bodhisattva Manjusri seated in vajraparyankasana on a double lotiform base
PROVENANCE
Collection of a former military officer posted in Indochina, then by descent.
An important bronze statue with a brown patina (lot 37), depicting the bodhisattva Manjusri seated in vajraparyankasana, provoked a bidding battle up to 54 600 €. The figure, seated on a double lotiform base, presents his hands in vitarka mudra. Richly adorned with jewelry, the bodhisattva's face is serene.
Lot 212
CHINA - TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, MID-TIME 17th CENTURY
Two blue-white porcelain baluster vases, one decorated with three scholars in a garden, the other with a figure admiring a prunus branch accompanied by disciples, the neck decorated with banana leaves ending in a frieze of scrolls on the shoulder.
H. 28 cm - 26,8 cm (Scratches, chip on the neck of one)
PROVENANCE
Collection of an important French aristocratic family.
Admirers also noticed a pair of vases (lot 212) dating from the Transition period. These blue-white porcelains marked 37 700 €.
Lot 26
JAPAN - MEIJI PERIOD (1868 - 1912)
Important gilded lacquered wood sculpture of Amida Buddha in "Raigô-ryuzô" (literally "Who comes to welcome")
Total height: 145 cm (Misses, cracks, jumps of lacquer)
Another beautiful takeoff of bids, for this important sculpture in gilded lacquered wood (lot 26):! This Amida Buddha obtained 16 900 €. The round face with half-closed eyes and a small mouth, underlined by a thin painted moustache, presents a benevolent expression. This iconography is the most common one given to Amida Buddha in Japanese Buddhism of non-esoteric tradition. In this attitude Amida Buddha appears when he comes to welcome the faithful to be reborn in his Pure Land. Also the position of his hands is called "Seal of Welcome" (raigô-in).
Upcoming Asian Weeks
Painter of Asia, Major works, May 31, 2023
Arts of Asia, June 1, 2023
From May 2 to June 1, Aguttes is offering its second edition of Asian Weeks in 2023. The only auction house in the world to specialize in the market of painters who received both Asian and Western training at the beginning of the 20th century, Aguttes is once again helping to highlight the artists of the Indochina School of Fine Arts. This 38th opus of Asian Painters, Major Works will honor the first classes trained in Hanoi by Inguimberty, Jonchère, Alix Aymé, under the direction of Victor Tardieu, such as Lê Phổ or even Vũ Cao Đàm.
LÊ PHÔ (1907-2001)
Woman on the balcony, circa 1935
Ink and colors on silk, signed upper left
29,5 x 22,8 cm
VU CAO DAM (1908 - 2000)
Young woman in yellow, 1981
Oil on canvas signed and dated lower right
78 x 63 cm
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier
Asian painters expert
+33 1 41 92 06 49 - reynier@aguttes.com
Clémentine Guuyot
Head of Asian arts department
+33 1 47 45 00 90 - guyot@aguttes.com
Aguttes Neuilly • 164 bis, avenue Charles-de-Gaulle - Neuilly-sur-Seine
* Amounts with fees