Bonhams Announces Inaugural Asia Week New York Lineup At Its New U.s. Flagship This March

New York – Bonhams will present its first Asia Week New York at its newly unveiled New York flagship this month with a series of six live sales – Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, The Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Snuff Bottles, Part III, Chinese Paintings, Calligraphy and Prints, Indian, Himalayan Art & Southeast Asian Art, Fine Japanese & Korean Art, and Netsuke from the Collection of Joseph and Elena Kurstin Part II – all of which showcase the depth, skill, and artistry of exceptional works from across Asia.

 “Asia Week New York has long been a momentous occasion for Bonhams, and this year is especially meaningful as we usher in our slate of March sales at our newly unveiled New York flagship at Steinway Hall,” commented Dessa Goddard, Senior VP and US Head of Asian Art. “This season’s lineup brings together an exceptional breadth of material, from museum-quality Chinese masterpieces to landmark works of Japanese and Korean art, including a superb 18th‑century Moon Jar. We are also honored to present multiple collections this season, including the Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, Part III, and Part II of the Kurstin Netsuke Collection, both of which delivered strong results in their earlier sales. It is a privilege to champion works that exemplify the extraordinary craftsmanship and cultural richness of Asia, and we look forward to welcoming collectors and enthusiasts alike into our new home at 111 West 57th Street.”

Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 

March 23

Two fine pairs of Zitan corner-leg tables, from the same prestigious New York family collection, are among the standout highlights in the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, sale on March 23. Leading the sale are a Pair of Rare and Magnificent Carved Imperial Zitan Corner Leg Tables, Qianlong/Jiaqing Period, estimated at US$800,000 – 1,200,000. Remarkable for their size and craftsmanship, the tables feature a three‑board flush panel top within a mitred mortise‑and‑tenon frame carved with Buddhist motifs and shou characters, joined to elegant square supports and hoof feet. Also from the same collection is an Imposing Pair of Finely Carved Zitan Corner‑Leg Tables, Qing Dynasty, 18th/19th Century, estimated at US$400,000–600,000. Distinguished by their refined proportions and intricate detailing, the present pair is carved with a key‑fret band above a recessed waist framed by a narrow lotus‑petal border, over beaded aprons decorated with zoomorphic cloud scrolls and kui‑dragon heads forming a central taotie mask on each side. 

Additional highlights include:  

• A Fine and Exceptional Tangcai Blue-Ground ‘Lotus’ Bottle Vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period, estimated at US$300,000 – 500,000. Finely painted in brilliant pastel enamels over a meticulously carved blue sgraffiato ground, the vase exemplifies the technical sophistication and lavish aesthetic of imperial yangcai porcelain at its height. Closely related examples can be found in major museum collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Palace Museum, Taipei, underscoring the rarity and significance of the present vase. 

• An Exceedingly Rare Pair of Massive Moulded Famille Verte Baluster Jars and Covers, the jars, Kangxi (1662-1722), the European gilt-bronze stands, later, estimated at US$300,000 – 400,000. Of unusually large scale and baluster shape, the present jars employ a rare combination of high‑relief molded decoration and enamel painting, each depicting similar, longevity subjects in a continuous scene. 

• A Very Rare and Imposing Marble Difure of Maitreya, Sui/early Tang Dynasty, 7th century, from a private California collection estimated at US$200,000 – 300,000. Carved in the round and seated in bhadrasana, the figure displays elegantly draped monastic robes gathered over one shoulder and falling in soft, rhythmic folds across the body. Its octagonal lotus pedestal, adorned with musicians, a dancer, and crisp lotus lappets, reflects the sophisticated workmanship of the early Tang period. Closely related examples can be found in the Shanxi Museum and in the Avery Brundage Collection, now housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, underscoring the rarity and importance of the present sculpture. 

• A Rare Beijing Enamel European-Subject Snuff Bottle, blue enamel four-character Qianlong mark and of the period from an important private collection, estimated at $US120,000 – 200,000. 

The Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, Part III 

March 23

Also, on March 23, the department will present The Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, Part III. This third installment of the couple’s collection will comprise 150 lots and will showcase a variety of media, including fine examples of jade and agate such as a Shadow‑Agate Snuff Bottle, 1780-1860, portraying five bats rising from a gourd plume, estimated at US$1,500 – 2,500. 

Additional highlights include:  

• A White and Russet Jade Pebble-Form ‘Tied Bag and Clambering Monkey’ Snuff bottle, 1740-1820, estimated at US$800 – 1,200.  

• A Chalcedony Agate ‘Tethered Horse’ Snuff Bottle, 1750-1830, Official School, estimated at US$800 – 1,200. 

Chinese Paintings, Calligraphy and Prints 

March 24

Leading the Chinese Paintings, Calligraphy and Prints sale on March 24, is a curated group of eight significant paintings from the collection of Paul Cheng-tzu Mao (1922–2012), consulate representative of the Republic of China in San Francisco and a prominent supporter of Asian artists in the Western United States. Through his decades‑long engagement with the artistic community, Mao forged close relationships with leading painters – including Zhang Daqian (1899–1986), one of the most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century – which resulted in several works dedicated to him. Standouts within the collection include two paintings by Zhang Daqian, both estimated at US$100,000 – 150,000: Red Lotus Dedicated to Mr. And Mrs. Mao Cheng-tzu, 1974; and Landscape with Waterfall for Mao Cheng-tzu, 1974.  

Generally scarce and rare to come to market, the sale’s selection of Chinese prints includes editions of the Shizhuzhai Shuhuapu considered to be the most important examples of early polychrome printing, as well as wartime prints created by artists at the Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature at Yannan, dating back to the 1930s. 

Additional highlights include:  

• Portrait of a Manchu Princess by an anonymous 19th-century artist, estimated at US$150,000 – 250,000.  

• A rare surviving watercolor of For Peaceful Reconstruction, We Must Stop the Aggression of American Imperialism, 1950 by Gu Yuan (1919–1996), estimated at US$120,000 – 180,000.  

• Selections from Shizhuzhai Shuhuapu (Ten Bamboo Studio Collection of Painting and Calligraphy Prints), printed during 1633-1703, by Hu Zhengyan (1584–1674), estimated at US$100,000 – 150,000. 

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art  

March 24

Also on March 24, the Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art sale will offer 57 lots, spanning important stone and metal sculpture, Tibetan thangkas, early Jain bronzes, rare manuscript covers, and Indian court paintings. A major highlight in the sale is a Large Gold-Ground Thangka of Amitabha, 16th century, estimated at $US200,000 – 300,000. Masterfully painted in the tradition of the important Menri School of Tibetan painting, the present lot work has closely related to an example in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.