New England Asian Art Estate Auction

• on EBAY here is a link, simply click on our USER NAME :  plcombs 

• Its starts on Thursday evening August 8th at 6 PM Eastern Time and will run for ten days ending on August 18th, items will start to close at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. 

Where Did It All Come From?

A few months ago were contacted by the heirs of a significant estate which included a massive amount of Chinese porcelains, bronzes, scrolls, wood carvings and jades.

Virtually all of the items had been in storage on the East Coast for nearly 40 years. The man who had bought them, a former Vice President of Corning Glass and Citi-Bank, was an avid collector to say the least. His collecting eye was eclectic and very wide ranging. Guided by his own refined tastes and buying back then well ahead of the curve of what is now popular today among collectors. In total, 4,000 pieces...it could be 6,000..we never counted them all.

So, how do you sell that quantity effectively? First you go and look!

A Fabulous, Exciting and Interesting House Call!

A short time later I hopped on a plane for a short flight, met with the family and spent an amazing week going through the pieces. First glimpse?

• Storage racks with dozens of stacks of plates 3 feet tall, rows of steel shelving holding tall vases and large jars of every description.
• Behind locked doors more racks of bowls, vases, ewers and brush pots...
• Then the rows of glass cases 8 feet tall and five feet wide....packed top to bottom.
• Then the massive closed door wooden cabinets filled with still more.
• Trunks of scrolls, boxes of jade pendents and belt hooks.... and of course Chinese furniture and table screens.
• Shelves filled with "Table Objects"...
• Have you ever seen a crate of snuff bottles? It was there...

What to do, what to do...? An Unreserved Series of Auctions!

Soon we were discussing the most efficient way to bring it all to market. Time was not an issue which made it a lot easier. Selling good things in a RUSH is never a good idea. Soon we came to an agreement that we would begin packing and bringing the items to Cape Ann for photographing and commence listing them first on EBAY in the auction format.

We have opted to run them in weekly batches of 60 to 90 items each Thursday night for ten days until they are all sold.  Each auction will begin closing on Sunday nights at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. (With an occasional break of a week or so here and there and during December....)

All of them will be sold without reserve and a starting price under ten dollars...

Happily the collection has enough depth and range to ensure every single new set of listings will contain something for every level of collector or dealer. From Song vases and bowls to very fine Late Qing and Republican period examples...Values will run from a hundred dollars per item to thousands...

Blue and White Porcelains

Their are numerous fine blue and white examples from the Ming to late 18th C. including Kangxi basins, plates and bowls. In addition are numerous items for the Scholar's Table including brush pots, ink wells, FINE snuff bottles, brush washers, brush stands etc. Many are marked.

Yixing Teapots and Caddies

Another area bought with huge enthusiasm were Yixing examples dating to the 18th to early 20th C. including numerous fully enameled pieces as well as traditional ones with and without decoration. Most

are stamped on the bases and lids. The Yixing forms include primarily teapots, however their is also rustic signed tree form example and a number of Pewter teapots with Yixing liners! Many of the enamel pieces and un-glazed examples have all kinds of poems executed in a variety of scripts.

Famille Rose Vases, Bowls, Teapots, Plates, Hat Stands, Tea-caddies etc...

Examples will cover nearly the entire range of time since Famille Rose was first developed in the early 18th C. right through the best of the republican era.  Many with marked bases and good calligraphy adorning the bodies.

Snuff Bottles and Miniature Vases

A very good selection of Famille Rose relief worked and painted examples as well as under-glaze blue and under-glaze blue and red forms. Many with marked bases. Hard-stone and Peking glass is also well represented.  Some very fine pieces...

Wooden Boxes and Brush Pots and Carved Soapstone

While wood objects do not make up a large portion of the collection, their are none the less severaldozen fine pieces.

Including an exceptionally well made pair of carved lobe form boxes from the mid Qing period. A very good root form brush pot, a fine large cylindrical hardwood pot.

Some really excellent carved soapstone examples include framed hanging plaques and small table screens on terrific stands.

Monochromes, Vases, Bowls, Jars and Ewers

Jades? Scrolls?

Can we help you with a Collection?

If you have a collection of Chinese or Asian art and are in the position of wanting to sell it call us. Selling collections ranging from a few pieces to thousands is exactly what we've been doing since the 1970's. Today, man of our customers are the children and even grandchildren of families with whom we've worked in the past. They come back for a good reason, we do well by them!