The Chinese and Asian Art Forum. For Fans, Collectors and Dealers.
Basic Rules For the BidAmount Asian Art Forum: Talk about whatever you want. You can even discuss and offer things that are for sale if they are authentic. Maximum image file size per post is 2 MB. Images of 700pxl x 700pxl are optimal if saved at a medium resolution. Be respectful of others and enjoy yourself. Click the YouTube link for a brief tutorial on using the forum. You can also EMBED Videos by cutting and pasting from You-Tube, Vimeo etc.
NOTE: To post an item or add a new post, click open the category title from the FORUM LIST, and CLICK the Blue ADD TOPIC button.
This afternoon I watched the Nagel auction and there was a black Yuan bowl that I liked. The estimate was EUR 500-800 but to my surprise they started at EUR 250. I hit the button and it was mine. For 250.
I have to admit that I always thought the lower estimate was the starting price in a live auction and also the lowest bid that would be accepted. In this case EUR 500. Or is it because nobody left a bid in advance?
Birgit
The low estimate is not always the reserve price, or the lowest price possible to sell the piece at. The auction house and the seller come to an agreement beforehand on what the estimate and the reserve price will be. From what I have seen the auction houses might typically suggest the reserve be set at 50-75% of the low end estimate.
In the smaller scale auctions I used to attend in the UK, the auctioneer would often start low and pretend there were competing bids until the price reached within touching distance of the lower estimate. Even if there were no bidders he pretended there were until he got to the estimate and then pretended it sold. You could tell if it really had or not by what he wrote in hos book - well, the hand action either he wrote a name or he put a line through the entry.
In their vintage/house clearance, rather than antique auctions, you could sometimes pick something up cheaply, especially if it was part of a house clearance or had been in previous auctions and not sold.
It sounds like you did well to get it at such a lower price. I hope you will post photos when it arrives, I would love to see it.
Thank you both, I didn’t know how it worked. So it might be better to follow the auction and bid live instead of bidding in advance and probably too much.
The black Yuan bowl looks cool, I’ll show it when I get it.
Birgit
@julia That’s quite shocking: inventing bids to drive the price up. If you’re not there in person to watch him closely you’ll never know it 😟
Birgit
@shinigami Sometimes the low estimate is also set as the reserve, it is up to the seller to decide in advance. With the higher ticket big house items that might happen more often than other places. If there are no advance bids to get the ball rolling I think the auctioneer just starts by throwing out a low number to get things going, but they don't typically start it like that at the reserve price. At smaller auctions I've seen auctioneers throw out a number to get it started but if nobody bites then they drop it lower and lower until bidders come in. It's all quite interesting.
Hi Birgit,
looks like you bagged yourself a cheap bowl. I have seen similar sell for over $1,000.
I assume it was lot # 442. I was watching the live feed. I was looking at some Jade's.
From my understanding if you place bids before the auction they normally only accept opening bid. Phone bids are different than leaving bids with livesuctions or invaluable.
Generally speaking the reserve is the start price or 20% under. I purchased a dragon jade buckle post auction for 20% under the start/opening bid. This was the reserve.
Nearly every auction there is always something or one lot that tends to fly under the radar on the day.
Most of the lots sold at Nagel were at or just above the opening bid. Only a few lot's, like yours were sold for Less than half.
Some items (I suspect yours was) are sold without reserve and not always advertised as such.
Sometimes its best to bid Live. Sometimes you can get Lucky.
I like the bowl you bought. It's beautiful. Congratulations.
Mark
Birgit, I think the technique has a name, it might be "bidding to the wall" or something. Someone will know. I have seen another auctioneer do something similar with supposed bids on the book, only very often the pieces turn up unsold in the next auction.
@imperialfinegems Yes it was no. 442. I was outbid on the lovely blue and gold Tongzhi dish, so I was surprised that I was the only bidder for the black bowl.
Birgit
@imperialfinegems Another question: you said you bought post auction for 20% under the start bid. I have often bought unsold pieces, just sent a mail and got them for the lower estimate price and additional fees. Was that a mistake? Should I actively offer a sum a little below the lower estimate? Because I haven’t watched the auction I don’t know the price they initially started with.
However in my local auction house they always start with asking the lower estimate and it would probably be rude to offer less.
Birgit
Hi Birgit,
Generally speaking the lower estimate is the reserve.
So if the estimate is say $600-900 then it's safe to assume that the reserve is $600.
However often live auctions will start at about 20% under that figure.... So start price being $500 with estimate of $600-900.
I knew from watching the Live auction that the jade piece only reached $460-480. So it was passed in.
I contacted them the next day, not by email but by telephone call to enquire if it was sold or not sold. Since it was not sold I asked what was the lowest or reserve price. They informed me the client would not accept offers below $500. I immediately accepted and paid over the phone.
I have tried a number of times to try and buy something at say half the price. But rarely is this accepted.
So Birgit if you contact them in person and enquire about its availability and asking price or reserve price.... if you are happy then proceed. If the price is too high or unacceptable then make a offer.
BTW I have always been successful at between 70%-80% of the estimated price range.
Mark
Approx. reserve price, minus around 20% of low side of estimates. Unless something else agreed between a seller and auction house. Very often I find items on Sotheby's when they do "buy it now" price instead of auction. So I guess, reserve, etc. is individual type of agreement between 2 sides.
Thank you Mark, calling the auction house is a good idea. I will try it next time when I want to buy an unsold item. Also I will bide live rather than in advance. Have learned a lot in this thread!
Birgit
Latest Post: square bowl & lid with peach on top not sure what it is . Our newest member: James Close Recent Posts Unread Posts
Thanks for visiting "The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art"
If you sell on eBay, or have a shop feel free to post images and descriptions and links.
Check back often for discussion about the latest news in the Chinese art and antique world. Also find out about the latest Asian art auctions at Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams and Tajans.
Auction results for: fine porcelain, ceramics, bronze, jade, textiles and scholar's objects. As well as Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and other Asian cultures.
Thank you,
Peter Combs
Topics and categories on The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art
Kangxi vases, Kangxi dishes and chargers, Kangxi ritual pieces, Kangxi scholar's objects, Qianlong famille rose, Qianlong enamels, Qianlong period paintings, Qianlong Emporer's court, Fine porcelain of the Yongzheng period. Chinese imperial art, Ming porcelain including Jiajing, Wanli, Xuande, Chenghua as well as Ming jades and bronzes.
Join the BidAmount Chinese and Asian art discussion board and forum today
The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art
A free Asian art discussion board and Asian art message board for dealers and collectors of art and antiques from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the rest of Asia. Linked to all of the BidAmount Asian art reference areas, with videos from plcombs Asian Art and Bidamount on YouTube. Sign up also for the weekly BidAmount newsletter and catalogs of active eBay listing of Chinese porcelain, bronze, jades, robes, and paintings.
The art of calligraphy - and for the ancient Chinese it certainly was an art - aimed to demonstrate superior control and skill using brush and ink. Calligraphy established itself as one of the major Chinese art forms during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), and for two millennia after, all educated men were expected to be proficient at it.
The Museum’s collections of Asian art span nearly five millennia and encompass the cultures of China, the Himalayas, India, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. In 2007, the Museum launched an initiative to create dedicated galleries for the collection, beginning with a gallery for the arts of Korea ...
Chinese art is full of symbolism, in that artists typically seek to depict some aspect of a totality of which they are intuitively aware.
China Online Museum is the finest online museum of Chinese art. It features Chinese calligraphy, painting, ceramics, bronzes, carving, and other artworks.
Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. Overview Upcoming auctions Contacts Auction results ... Christie’s sales of Chinese ceramics and works of art showcase centuries of Chinese history. Held throughout the year in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong, they attract a wide audience of collectors and connoisseurs vying for pieces as diverse as ...
Explore Asian Art Week. Contact the Specialist Department. Chinese Paintings ... Senior Specialist, Head of Sale. [email protected]. Tel:+1 212 641 5760. Bid in-person or online for the upcoming auction:Fine Chinese Paintings on 10 September 2019 at New York. Bid in-person or online for the upcoming auction:Fine Chinese Paintings on 10 ...
Discover an abundance of must-see art from all corners of a vast continent at Christie’s NY Asian Art Week. From contemporary classical and Chinese paintings to works with exemplary provenance from the Art Institute of Chicago, our Rockefeller Paza galleries will be full of ancient treasures and contemporary masterworks in a salute to the vibrant arts of Asia.
Sold to benefit The Art Institute of Chicago’s Asian Art Acquisition Fund, the sale features 84 lots with a focus on Ming and Qing porcelains, and offers a rare insight into the taste for collecting Chinese ceramics and works of art in the Midwest from the end of the 19th century through the 1980s. Highlights include two Wanli wucai garlic-head vases, a Qianlong mark and period, blue and ...
Specialist, Chinese Paintings, Christie's London Dr Malcolm McNeill is a Specialist in Chinese Paintings at Christie’s, based in London. He previously worked as an assistant curator of the Chinese collections and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as a researcher at the British Museum, and as a translator and tour guide at the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
The Christie's Education 2020 Conference: The Chinese Art Market 18 Jun 2019 Christie’s Education is delighted to announce our first international academic conference in Asia which will take place in Hong Kong from 26-27 November 2020 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and will run in parallel with Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn Auctions.
The summer Chinese Art sale in Hong Kong will feature works of art from several private collections, including Qing porcelains and textile from the collection of the legendary Chinese art dealer A. W. Bahr (1877–1959), fine gilt bronze Buddhist sculptures from an old Hong Kong collection, an East Asian collection of Qing dynasty wine cups and jades, and a Japanese collection of Song ceramics ...
Sotheby's Chinese Works of Art Department holds two auctions each year in London, New York, Hong Kong and Paris.
Chinese Art - View Auction details, bid, buy and collect the various artworks at Sothebys Art Auction House.
With more than 340 Chinese works of art dating from the Neolithic to the Republic periods, highlights of this sale include a selection of Qing Imperial monochromes from the collection of Arnold and Blema Steinberg, early ceramics from the Art Institute of Chicago and Chinese porcelain and works of art from the collection of Henry Arnhold.
Results: Sotheby's Asia Week achieved $52.4 million in six strong auctions, exceeding pre-sale estimates. With 76.5% of lots sold and 60.3% of lots surpassing high estimates, the Asian art sales at Sotheby's indicate continued collector interest in the finest works of art from China, India and and the Himalayas.
Today's sale of Important Chinese Art will proceed as planned with sessions at 10 AM and 2 PM EDT. Sotheby's will be monitoring the weather conditions throughout the day and will be available to coordinate alternative bidding options should conditions make it difficult for clients to attend the auction in person.
Bonhams Chinese Art department is renowned for offering the finest works of art representing the richness and breadth of China's artistic heritage, particularly Imperial porcelain, white and spinach green jades, cloisonné and Buddhist art. Specialised international auctions are held globally, including London, Hong Kong and San Francisco.
Bonhams : Chinese Works of Art We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. Please refer to our privacy and cookie policies for more information.
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars. We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. ... Chinese Art (US) General enquiries
Bonhams : Fine Chinese Art We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. Please refer to our privacy and cookie policies for more information.
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars Bonhams : Asian Art We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site.
Bonhams are international auctioneers of fine Chinese and Japanese art. We specialise in rare Imperial and Export Chinese ceramics and works of art, as well as Japanese ceramics, fine and decorative works of art from the Neolithic Period to the 20th century. View on map
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars. We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site. By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. ... Asian Art Bonhams. Work. 22 Queen St.