For Immediate Release: 4th April 2011

Contact: Iona Sale, IONA PR, 01451 832 268,

07721 030 825 or iona@ionapr.com

BONANZA CHINESE SALE AT CHORLEY’S

Thursday, 19th May 2011

The feeding frenzy for Chinese art has already struck once
at Chorley’s in 2010 when a yen yen vase decorated with
geese fetched £100,000 and a brushpot with a poem
inscribed on one side and a landscape on the other sold
for £75,000. Chorley’s are now preparing for another
Chinese invasion on Thursday May 19th 2011 when
they will hold an Asian Art sale that includes several
important lots. The sale will incorporate bronzes,
porcelain, jade and objects from a wide historical period
with estimates ranging from under £100 all the way to
£200,000.
A superb pair of ivory, gilt bronze and hard
stone panels Qing dynasty (1644-1911),
The star lot of the sale with an interesting provenance is a est £150,000-200,000
pair of 18th Century panels made up of carved ivory, gilt
bronze, cloisonné and hard stones. The panels depict
figures, pagodas and trees with mountainous landscapes
behind, one shows Shoulao, the God of longevity, the
other shows Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West,
being drawn across the sky in her chariot. The panels are
of fine, possibly Imperial, quality and interestingly the
Gods depicted were both Gods of longevity. The
provenance will have its part to play as one of the panels
bears a small label which states that the panels were the
property of Ranee Margaret of Sarawak.
A famille verte square box,
Lady Margaret Brooke, the Ranee of Sarawak, was the Kangxi (1662-1722)
wife of Charles Brooke, 2nd Rajah of Sarawak. The Brooke Est £700-900
family ruled Sarawak from the 1840s until 1946 when they
ceded control to the British Empire. The first ‘White
Rajah’, James Brooke, came to power after helping the
Sultan of Brunei to quell an uprising. He had no children
and his nephew Charles Brooke succeeded him. Charles
consolidated their rule and continued the work of
suppressing piracy and head-hunting. The quality and
detail of these panels combined with the subject matter
and provenance should ensure that they achieve their pre-
sale estimate of £150,000-200,000.

Blue and white dragon dish,

Qianlong (1736-1795)
est £1,500-2,000
Chorley’s sale will be eagerly anticipated by buyers of
Oriental art and also includes some more affordable items
such as a Kangxi period box decorated with fish and
seashells on a green ground, estimated at £700-900.

The Japanese market has been underperforming in recent

years and it is possible to pick up good quality items for
reasonable prices. The sale will include Japanese imari
wares as well as some Meiji period carved ivory
Okimono. Depicting figures and figure groups these
range in estimate from £200-800.
Finely carved ivory figures,
Meiji (1868-1912) Japanese,
The Chinese art market is booming: this phenomenon est £350-450 and £600-800
recently gained wider public attention when a vase sold
for a record £43 million at a provincial sale. The driving
force behind the record prices currently being achieved is
the explosion in the number of wealthy Chinese buyers
combined with the desire to ‘buy back’ their heritage.

Provincial auctioneers have benefited from this market as

it has come about at the same time as the rise of the
online catalogue. Now mainland Chinese buyers are able
to buy the best objects directly from smaller salerooms
rather than having to wait for objects to reach the London
salerooms via a series of middle men.

If you would like any further information about the sale

please contact Thomas Jenner-Fust on 01452 344499 or
tjf@simonchorley.com

VIEWING DAYS are Tuesday, 17th May, 9am-7pm,

Wednesday, 18th May, 9am-5pm and Thursday 19th
May, 8.30am-10.30am.