Rare collections up for auction

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-03 15:51

About 5,300 invaluable Chinese oil paintings, sculptures, porcelain, jade handicrafts, rare books, stamps, coins and bronze mirrors will be exhibited and auctioned from Nov 7-12 at the Kerry Center in Beijing.

The autumn auction by Guardian is reportedly one of the biggest events of China's auction scene this year.

The most anticipated lots are the 12 landscape paintings by eight modern masters, including Huang Binhong, Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien), Fu Baoshi, Li Keran, Lu Yanshao and Wu Guanzhong. Unlike the usual abstract landscapes by these artists, all the 12 works going under the hammer portray real Chinese mountains and rivers, for instance, Huang Binhong's Dense Forest in Wu Gorge, Li Keran's Memories of Traveling in Mountain Yandang, and Wu Guanzhong's Village of Zhuang Ethnic Group.

As 2009 marks the anniversary of master Zhang Daqian's 110th birthday, seven of Zhang's major works will for the first time be auctioned together. They include Huayan Peak of Huang Mountain and Leifeng Pagoda in Setting Sun, which have rarely been seen in recent years.

One of the few existing copies of The 120 Chapters of the A Dream of the Red Mansion is another highlight of the auction. It is the first printed edition of A Dream of the Red Mansions and is known as "Cheng's first edition". Today, only the National Library, Peking University and the Academy of Social Sciences have copies of this edition. Preserved in its entirety and in perfect condition, it is an extremely rare treasure, that has drawn much attention from scholars and collectors alike.

The stamp, covers, coin and banknote section's presentation of The Xu Feng

Collection: Historical Chinese Paper Money is also of note. Xu Feng was not only a major star of Chinese films of the 30s and 40s but also an authority on Chinese paper currency.

Other shows of interest include Sculptures from Southwest China; National Stone Carvings; and The Zhiweihanshuo Collection: Selected Works of Zisha Teapots.

Preview on Nov7-9, and auction on Nov 10-12, Kerry Center, Chaoyang, Beijing