Rare Asian Art offered for sale Christie's

Christie's New York will present its Fall sale of Japanese and Korean Art on Sept. 14, which will include over 250 pieces of Japanese and Korean art. The Japanese section will include pieces from the estate of Catherine H. Edson. The sale is expected to realize in excess of $9 million.

The Japanese items offered for sale will include paintings, lacquer wares and furniture, while the Korean portion includes fine porcelains, as well as traditional and modern paintings by Korean masters. Leading the Japanese section of the sale is The Actor Otani Oniji III as Edobei in the Kabuki Play Koi nyobo somewake tazuna (The Beloved Wife’s Particolored Reins) by Toshusai Sharuku, estimated to sell for $600,000-$800,000. Extremely rare, it’s one of Sharuku’s most sought after pieces.

Another highlight is the lacquer cabinet of the Meiji Period, circa 1900, and estimated to sell for $300,000-350,000. The cabinet features a design of a famous boating excursion on the Oi River in Saga Arashiyama, the western outskirts of the Heian capital (modern Kyoto). The chest was designed by a painter and signed by lacquer artists: Kawanobe Itcho, Kawanobe Heiemon, and Funabashi Iwajiro.

Leading the Korean section is Kim Whankis’ Landscape in Blue that is expected to sell between $2 million and 2.2 million. Whanki has become an expert of Korean modern masters by using his unique blend of Eastern and Western influences. In the 1950’s he incorporated scenes from European landscapes such as a blue moon, a mountain and a forest, which is a symbolic naturalism in keeping with post-colonial nationalism. He chose Suhwa, “to speak with the trees.” Landscape in Blue emphasized the abstract style with which the artist is so closely associated. This painting was purchased by a private collector directly from the artist.

Other items offered for sale in the Korean section include an oil and mixed media painting by Park Sookeun titled Returning from the Market (painted in 1965) which depicts three women, all in traditional Korean clothing (hanbok), and a boy, returning home from the market that is expected to sell between $400,000 to $500,000. Since Christie’s New York began selling the work of Park Sookeun 18 years ago, he has become the most sought-after modern Korean master. Returning from the Market has been possessed by the same collector, who bought it directly from Sookeun. Christie’s has sold 21 of Sookeun’s paintings.