An exceptional quality Japanese inlaid rosewood cabinet from the Meiji era, which sold for £5,600 and growing demand for old photographs of Chinese life were the main headlines from our Asian art auction last week.
12/05/2025
Halls Fine Art’s Asian art specialist Alexander Clement also spoke about growing interest in Himalayan art and Japanese blockwood prints, which sold well at the company’s auction in Shrewsbury.
Star of the show was the superbly crafted Japanese Shibayama cabinet, which included lacquer work and ivory and pearl inlay.
Surpassing its top estimate, the cabinet sold to a UK buyer and came from a collection in Staffordshire. “Everything about the cabinet was high quality and the craftsmanship was incredible,” said Alexander.
Two lots of photographs of early 20th century China and Chinese life, which were consigned by vendors in Ludlow and Welshpool, sold for £2,000 and £700, respectively.
The £2,000 lot included two albums of photographs from the 1920s-‘30s, which contained around 650 silver gelatin prints. The subjects included rural, city and natural views and scenes, temples and sacred sites, people, portraits and activities, taken throughout China and Tibet.
The smaller lot was an archive of photographs taken and assembled by Lionel Jupp (1878-1951) during the 1910s-‘20s, including a series depicting an amateur theatrical performance cast with Chinese household staff.
Further images were of people and places around Shanghai and Tientsin, military parades, the Great Wall of China and the Temple of Heaven, Peking, together with four portraits of Jupp himself.
From another Staffordshire collection were a 17th century Tibetan carved and parcel gilt rock crystal throne and a gilt bronze figure of a seated Maitreya in teaching mudra, which sold for £1,400. From the same home was a 17th century Nepalese gilt copper repoussé crowned Buddha which sold for £1,050.
The first part of a collection of Indian and Islamic art from a Kidderminster vendor sold for £10,000, with another 50 lots to be included in a future Asian art auction. Highest price was achieved was £1,000 for a late 18th century or early 19th century silver inlaid bronze elephant.
A collection of 17 Japanese woodblock prints by artists including Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) and Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), sold £650.
Other leading prices were £1,200 for a 19th pair of large Chinese famille rose vases, which both had damaged rims and came from a Kidderminster vendor, £900 for a 19th century Chinese yellow ground dragon bowl and £750 each for a pair of Chinese transitional blue and white vases and cover and a Chinese blue and white jar and cover from the Ming Dynasty
Speaking about the growing interest in photographs of China and Himalayan art, Alexander said: “Buyers seems to like photographs of China and Chinese life from 1870 to 1930 when there were not many western travellers going to China and Japan and the negatives are long gone..
“There also seems to be a good market for Himalayan art, such as gilt bronze figures of deities which are very collectable. There is a growing army of collectors in India and China who are looking to buy Tibetan and Nepalese art.
“Interestingly, the market also looks promising for Japanese woodblock prints, including quite modern style works by 20th century artists.”
For more information, please contact Alexander Clement at Halls Fine Art on Tel: 01743 450700 option 3 or Duncan Foulkes, public relations consultant, on Tel: 01686 650818.
+44 (0)1743 450 700
fineart@hallsgb.com
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