From the porcelains, jades, snuff bottles and paintings of China and the Himalayas, to the dynastic art of Vietnam, to the different styles and periods of prints in Japan and Korea, Wei Wang is on a mission to educate Irish collectors about all kinds of Asian art.
Dr Wang, the Paris-based Asian art specialist for Adam’s auctioneers in Dublin, says that in spite of the Chester Beatty Library at Dublin Castle, which has one of the world’s most famous collections of Asian art, few people in Ireland know a lot about Asian art.
“Many don’t know what they have in their family homes, so I want people to appreciate and collect Asian art,” she says.
To help her with this noble and onerous task, Wang draws on the knowledge of experts to give lectures in the days before each Asian Art Auction. And so, next Saturday – in advance of Adam’s biannual Fine Asian Art auction on Monday, November 18th – there will be a lecture on Japanese Kobudō (martial arts), arms and armour by Alex Meehan.
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This topic was chosen to coincide with the sale of the Vietnamese 19th century ceremonial imperial sword for €100,000-€200,000 at auction. Owned by Emperor Minh Mang, the second ruler in the Nguyễn Dynasty, Wang says this “supreme royal symbol” has already attracted a lot of interest from Chinese and Vietnamese experts during viewing of the items in Paris, before the Dublin viewing next weekend.
The inclusion in the auction of more than 100 Japanese prints in the Ukiyo-e style prompted this writer to research this printmaking technique, which was popular in Japan from the 17th to the 19th century. Ukiyo-e prints, which translate as pictures of the floating world, were produced in a collaborative process in which the artist first drew strong lines, which were then carved into woodblocks and later printed for publication.
“Many of these prints began as advertisements for theatre and then became an art form in itself,” explains Wang. The colourful prints featured sumo wrestlers, geisha girls, samurai warriors, landscapes and scenes from folktales, as well as the kabuki actors Wang refers to.
Ukiyo-e prints became the quintessential form of Japanese art understood by Europeans in the late 19th century. In particular, the landscapes of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) became fashionable in France and England in the 1870s and 1880s. The Hokusai print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, remains one of the best known works of a Japanese artist. The Chester Beatty library featured 100 Japanese prints and printed books from its collections in a 2021 exhibition entitled Edo in Colour. Edo was the old name for modern-day Tokyo.
These Ukiyo-e prints influenced many early French impressionists (Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, etc), post-impressionists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Art Nouveau artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Japanese Ukiyo-e prints in the Fine Asian Art auction at Adam’s include Fine Wind, Clear Weather (also known as Red Fuji) from the series of 36 views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai (€120-€150), and a rare complete series of famous places in the provinces of Japan by Utagawa Hiroshige (€4,000-€6,000). The auction includes many prints by other Japanese 19th century artists, with estimates from €150-€400.
Moving outside the capital, Christmas gift shoppers and collectors of antiques and other ephemera have a choice of auction in the next few weeks. About 80 dealers are expected to attend the National Antiques Fair at the Limerick Racecourse on November 16th and 17th from 11am-6pm each day. Visitors can browse stalls with everything from small furniture, Irish militaria, coins and banks to silverware, Waterford crystal, china, porcelain, jewellery and clocks. There will also be contemporary Irish art, oriental antiques and vintage clothing.
Meanwhile, Hegarty Antiques in Bandon, Co Cork, is hosting Part II of its Stoneview Collection of antique furniture, Irish silver, art, jewellery and other collectables in an online auction at 11am on November 13th.
One interesting piece in this auction is a twin fern-handled mantle vase on a pedestal made by the famous British florist Constance Spry (estimate €400-€800). Born Constance Fletcher in the late 1880s in Derby, she moved to Ireland with her family at the age of 14. She trained as a nurse and educator, becoming secretary of the Dublin Red Cross.
[ Constance Spry: Iconic florist with Irish connections inspiring new generationOpens in new window ]
However, at the outbreak of the first World War she left her husband with their young son and moved back to England where she opened her first floral shop. As her success grew, she opened a larger shop in Mayfair, where she employed 60 people.
Renowned for her dramatic and unusual floral displays, Constance Spry went on to provide the flowers for the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson’s wedding in 1937 and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. She co-designed a series of vases with Florence Standfast, taking inspiration from the Roman, Greek and Phoenician vases.
Adams.ie; hegartyantiques.com; hibernianantiques.ie
What did it sell for?
Eden tapestry, Louis le Brocquy
Estimate €25,000-€35,000
Hammer price €36,000
Auction house deVeres
Tulip table, Eero Saarinen
Estimate €2,000-€3,000
Hammer price €2,000
Auction house deVeres
Italian rosewood side cabinet
Estimate €1,500-€2,500
Hammer price €1,900
Auction house deVeres
Winter Knot, Barrie Cooke
Estimate €8,000-€12,000
Hammer price Not sold
Auction house deVeres
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