iGavel Auctions capped off Asia Week New York with $2.5 million in sales. Despite recent reports of a weakened Chinese economy the results for the sale of Asian Works of Art by Lark Mason Associates, which concluded on April 19, surpassed all expectations and estimates with sales totaling $1,617,346 (including buyers premium). Of the 104 lots sold, the top 10 lots approached $1,000,000. The star lot of the sale was an unusual 18th century Chinese Bronze Censer and Cover, which soared 25 times more than its pre-sale estimate of $5,000/8,000 to $206,250, followed by a rare Chinese Porcelain Wucai Dragon and Phoenix Dish, Kangxi Mark and Period, which realized $173,125 from the $10,000/$15,000 estimate. 

The strong prices were not restricted to Chinese art. An extremely fine and rare pair of Japanese Komai Vases, dating from the Meiji dynasty sold for $100,000 and an 18th century Tibetan Parcel-Gilt Iron Curved Dagger with Bronze Makara Hilt, sold for $46,250, more than eight times its original estimate.

According to Mason, Chinese paintings also fared extremely well with three ink-on-paper works by Qi Baishi and one by Li Keran realizing a combined total of nearly $250,000. Two main furniture lots soared past all expectations, with a Chinese Zitan Side Table, selling for $66,250 and a Chinese Huanghuali Cosmetic Chest, circa 1700 nearing a record-setting price of $131,875. 

In the second sale of Asian, Ancient & Ethnographic Works of Art, the iGavel associates delivered strong results in an otherwise uncertain market. The sale extended from the preview during Asia Week New York and ended on April 21st, with 547 lots offered of which 342 sold, realizing a total of $595,657. 

The top lot of the sale was offered by Petrie Rogers Art, of Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, a 13th century Chinese Southern Song Longquan Celadon Tripod Censer, which fetched $68,750, far exceeding the presale estimate of $10,000/15,000. A group of archaic jade and hardstone funerary articles attracted much attention, offered by Lark Mason Associates, with three examples selling for nearly $100,000. Southbay Auctions, in East Moriches, New York, was rewarded with a high price for a Qing Dragon Decorated Porcelain Vase that sold for $16,250 and Quinn’s Auctions of Falls Church, Virginia, in a related sale on the iGavel site, sold a blue and white double-gourd vase for $28,125. These and other sales were strong across all categories and showed the continued strength of the international Asian art market. 

Says Lark Mason, “The extraordinary results occurred because we offered top quality works at reasonable reserves, and the sales were on iGavelauctions.com, which has consistently realized the strongest prices for all types of works of art in the auction market. We are very pleased to achieve record-setting prices for our consignors. Despite the slowdown in China, results were steady and strong, presaging a robust market for the Fall and beyond.”

About Lark Mason and iGavel

With locations in New Braunfels, Texas and New York City, Lark Mason Associates, the eponymous, auction house specializing in Asian, ethnographic, and ancient works of art, was founded by Lark Mason after many years as an expert at Sotheby’s New York.

Mason served as a General Appraiser from 1979 until 1985, and as a Senior Vice President and specialist in Chinese art with Sotheby’s Chinese Works of Art Department from 1985-2003.  From 2000-2003 he concurrently was a Director of Online Auctions for Sothebys.com. He also served as a consulting curator at the Trammel and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, Texas from 2003-2009. He is an expert in the field of Chinese furniture, having responsibility for this area during his tenure at Sotheby’s. As an Asian works of art specialist he has valued and advised many private collectors and institutions.

Lark Mason Associates regularly hosts auctions on the iGavel Auctions platform and has an established history of record sales of Chinese and other works of art. Mason, the owner and CEO of iGavel Auctions, is noted for his regular appearances on the PBS series, “The Antiques Roadshow.”

The iGavel associates are independent auctioneers, appraisers, and dealers. They include: Daniel Cooney Fine Art (New York, NY), South Bay Auctions (East Moriches, NY), Abington Auction Gallery (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Elder's Fine Art and Antiques (Nokomis, FL), Everard & Company (Savannah, GA), Bill Lowrie Antiques (Minneapolis, MN), and Witherell’s (Sacramento, CA), John Buxton (Dallas, TX), Remmey Auctions (Morristown, NJ), Quinn’s Auctions (Falls Church, VA), Geraldine Carr (Virginia Beach VA) and others. 

For more information visit: www.igavelauctions.com