Emperors Antique: June 2014

Sunday, 29 June 2014

A Chine Porcelain 'Fruit' Bowl Decorated in Underglaze Blue

Compiled from Arts of Asia March - April 1987

Thursday, 26 June 2014

A Fine and Rare Kesi Robe (Possibly Made for the Empress Dowager)

Compiled from Arts of Asia March - April 1987

Property from the Chu Mei Yun Collection, Fine and Rare Kesi Robe, possibly made for the Empress Dowager, circa 1908

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Empire of The Dragons - Song

Compiled from Empire of The Dragons

A Fine Imperial Famille Rose Bowl Depicting Flowers and Birds For Sale

A Fine Imperial Famille Rose Bowl Depicting Flowers and Birds

Diameter: 10.5 cm

Yong Zheng mark and period

Price is available upon request. Please contact May at emperorsantique@gmail.com for further inquiries.

Sunday, 22 June 2014

Eight Rank Insignia for Military Officials - Silk

Compiled Son of Heaven - Imperial Arts of China

Details to Emperors Antique's First Exhibition

We at Emperors Antique are pleased and excited to announce that we are having our very first exhibition! Details are below:

Date: 5^th July 2014

Time: 8pm – 11pm

Address: Unit B-3-02 (3rd Floor) Neo Damansara,

Jalan PJU 8/1, Damansara Perdana,

47820 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor

Please go to http://www.emperorsantique.com/contact-us/ to view the map to our gallery.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards

May Naik

Co-owner of Emperors Antique

016 3639037

Thursday, 19 June 2014

Stamp Sells for Record US$9.5 Million in New York

Compiled from The Malaysian Insider

An incredibly rare 19th century postage stamp, a tiny one-cent magenta from British colonial Guyana, sold for a world record US$9.5 million (RM30.6 million) at a New York auction yesterday.

It took just two minutes for an anonymous collector on the phone to seal the deal after quick-fire bidding opened at US$4.5 million in a packed room at Sotheby's in Manhattan.

The auction house had valued the tiny specimen of British colonial memorabilia at US$10-20 million, an estimate which it said was vindicated by the sale price.

"The stamp has just sold for approximately US$9.5 million, which means it has set a new world record price for a stamp," announced David Redden, the auctioneer and Sotheby's director of special projects.

The previous auction record for a single stamp was US$2.2 million, set by the Treskilling Yellow in 1996.

Made in 1856 in Guyana and measuring just one by 2.54 by 3.18 centimeters, the stamp is octagonal, printed in black ink and bears the initials of its past owners on the back.

Redden told AFP that the one-cent magenta has a "wonderful aura" which made it "almost the Mona Lisa of stamps."

He said he "did not know" whether the new owner would add their own initials to the back.

Encased in glass, the stamp dates back more than 150 years and has passed through great collections, now breaking a world record price four times since 1922.

Last bought by convicted murderer and American multi-millionaire John du Pont in 1980, it was last seen in public in 1986, before going on display at Sotheby's in the build-up to yesterday's sale.

The auction house says the stamp is the only surviving example of a one-cent magenta, so rare that it is missing even from the British royal family's philatelic collection.

To view the full article, please go to

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/stamp-sells-for-record-us9.5-million-in-new-york

Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Spanish Museum Reopens After Six-year Hiatus

Compiled from The Star

Spain’s archeological museum opens its doors after a massive renovation exercise that spanned six years.

SPAIN’S National Archaeological Museum reopens to the public on Tuesday after a massive six-year overhaul that aims to offer a state-of-the-art space for its collection of ancient artefacts.

The redesign of one of Madrid’s largest museums, housing items from prehistoric times until the 19th century, began in 2008 and cost Euro 65.2mil (RM286.54mil).

It has incorporated new audiovisual displays, maps and graphic panels to give greater context to the objects on display, which include Greek vases, Roman mosaics and ancient sacred artefacts.

The collection is spread around two interior courtyards now bathed in natural light thanks to new larger windows.

In the first room visitors will be greeted by two giant walls of images projected onto 350 small screens.

”The idea is to tell the history of the people who lived in the geographical area we now call Spain,” said museum director Andres Carretero Perez.

”We did not want to create an exhibition for scholars, we wanted it to be accessible for the greatest number of people and not be dry like history books.”

A total of 13,000 objects are on display in 40 rooms in a neoclassical building, in the heart of Madrid, which the museum shares with the National Library.

”All of these objects are important because they were chosen from the 1.25 million objects that are stored at the museum,” said Perez.

One of the star attractions is a celebrated Celto-Iberian bust from the fifth century BC known as “The Lady of Elche” depicting the bust of a woman wearing elaborate headgear.

The bust was found by chance in 1897 near Elche in southeastern Spain and bought by a French archeological connoisseur who sent it to France where it was displayed at the Louvre museum.

The French government returned it to Spain in 1941 under a deal reached with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

The museum also features a reconstruction of Spain’s Altamira Caves and their prehistoric wall paintings of bison, horses, deer and animal-headed humans.

The room housing a replica of the remains of 3.2-million-year old female hominid known as “Lucy” features videos that show what life was like during the period when she lived. The fossilised remains were discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia by US scientist Donald Johanson and they are considered one of the world’s most significant archeological finds.

”The idea is not to see everything all at once. To see everything you would need two full days,” said Perez.

The museum was founded in 1867 to save and study archaeological objects collected by Spain’s monarchs.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy officially re-inaugurated the museum.

Tickets cost three euros (RM13).

Museum officials hope the revamp will double its previous annual visitor numbers of 200,000-250,000 people.

The museum is now also fully accessible for the disabled, with ramps and elevators for wheelchairs, commentaries in braille and replicas of objects on display available for the blind to touch. - AFP Relaxnews

http://www.thestar.com.my/Travel/Europe/2014/06/05/Spanish-museum-reopens-after-sixyear-hiatus/

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Big Appeal of Small Markets by Kelly Tey

Compiled from The Star

There was a time when weekend flea markets within a commercial complex were unheard of in the Malaysian shopping scene.

The concept of n informal gathering of people coming together to buy, sell, and trade used or old goods under one roof was completely foreign.

It all changed in 1998 when Amcorp Mall set out to create an indoor antiques market inspired by one of the most iconic antiques market in the world — the Portobello Road market in the United Kingdom.

Amcorp’s infant flea market started slowly, with just a handful of pioneering antique enthusiasts displaying their prized possessions in the mall’s lower ground level.

Sixteen years later, the number of traders has soared to about 300, and the space it takes up has grown from one floor of the mall to four.

The idea of flea markets has also visibly grown on Malaysians.

To view the full article, please go to http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/SME/2014/05/31/Flea-markets-start-to-flourish-Weekend-bazaars-are-turning-out-to-be-nurseries-for-small-businesses/

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

A Very Large and Fine Cloisonne Enamel Guan Yin (In A Sitting Position) With Highly Elaborated Flower Patterns On the Clothing For Sale

A Very Large and Fine Cloisonne Enamel Guan Yin (In A Sitting Position) With Highly Elaborated Flower Patterns On the ClothingH - 58 cmKang Xi mark and period

Price is available upon request. Interested parties can contact May at maynaik23@gmail.com.

Sunday, 8 June 2014

China Art Auctions – A Great Money Laundry by Anna Healy Fenton

After a wobble a couple of years ago, China’s art market is hot and continues to be a hot topic. Art data from Artron showed sales in China exceeded the United States for the first time in 2010. Sales in 2013 were 57 billion yuan (HK$72.5 billion).

But it’s been a bumpy ride, with a major hiccup in 2012. The China Association of Auctioneers (CAA) and international art group Artnet reported 788 auctions in 2012 made Rmb29 billion – half last year’s figure.

The 2012 -2011 wobble, according to the CAA, was due to “only half of the works offered at auction actually selling”. This can be attributed to many buyers questioning authenticity and refusing to pay. Eagle Standing on a Pine Tree, a 1946 ink painting by Qi Baishi, made a record $65.4 million in May 2011. But the New York Times noted the painting was still languishing in a Beijing warehouse two years later. The bidder had refused to pay up, doubting it was genuine.

As well as counterfeit concerns, Week in China explains that payment defaults often occur when bidders agree to sky-high valuations in an attempt to prop up prices for works by particular painters or artists that these “market makers” collect. Some auction houses look the other way as long as the (eventually aborted) sales make the market look strong. Pieces often get sold time and again.

Reuters noted in October that a Qi Baishi painting had gone under the hammer four times in a decade, with the price shooting from $30,000 to $794,000.

You’d think the general air of dodginess would spook buyers, but demand of Chinese art continues unchecked. The reason? “The price of Chinese art is really abnormal,” Jiang Yinfeng, a painter and art critic told the Worker’s Daily. “Art has become the best tool for money laundering and corruption.”

To view the full article, please go to http://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/1409498/china-art-auctions-great-money-laundry