Date: Fri 01-Oct-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: MARION

Quick Words:

Pacific-Asia-

Full Text:

Arts Of Pacific Asia Show Survives The Storm

NEW YORK CITY -- With Hurricane Floyd drawing near and the National Guard

trooping in, New York Arts of Pacific Asia opened Wednesday, September 15, to

a strong crowd, with nearly 750 attendees during the four-hour preview. The

crowd was a serious one, mirroring the large attendance experienced by

Sotheby's, Christie's and Doyle's auction houses for their fall Asia Week.

Through a series of schedule changes the show's venue, the 69th Regiment

Armory at Lexington and 26th Street was double-booked, cutting in half the

time for show set-up.

Business was vigorous at the preview, and early indications were that Japanese

material and works from the Indian subcontinent would dominate show sales.

Jean Schaefer of New York's Flying Cranes Gallery said, "We saw clients we

hadn't seen in more than two years and sales were very active."

London's Arthur Milner reported strong early sales and that his buyers were

"favoring Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Indian decorative arts, Colonial

furniture and Indian metalwork."

Brussels Georgia Chrischilles sold a small stone stele, representing a form of

Shive that is most popular, the Khandoba. Carlo Cristi, of Milan, sold a

Fourteenth Century bronze Padmapani from Tibet, and L'Asie Exotique, La Jolla,

Calif., saw activity in Indian bronzes, most especially a Sixteenth Century

Jain figure, and were surprised by the level of interest in Japanese and

Chinese paintings. Also that evening, Ken Bolen, New York Meiji Arts, sold an

important Meiji sword and Liza Hyde Antique Japanese Screens, New York, sold a

major screen.

With the arrival of Hurricane Floyd, and consequent severe flooding in New

Jersey, Long Island and upstate New York on Friday, hopes for a large show

crowd waned. Attendance was less than 400 on Thursday, and rose to only about

700 on Friday. But even in the midst of the storm, surprisingly active sales

continued.

Susan Tosk, of New York's Orientations Gallery, said it was the most

successful Arts of Pacific Asia in her five years of participation. Tosk, who

has exhibited at every show since the series was established in 1995,

specializes in exceptional Japanese ceramics, bronzes and cloisonne, and sold

to prominent collectors from both Japan and Europe.

Ken Bolen, of New York Meiji Art, said, "This was only the second time we have

shown at Arts of Pacific Asia and I thought we had a good show in March, but

this show was even better, with more then $270,000 in sales."

In addition to the sword sold Wednesday evening, New York Meiji Art sold an

important Kiro, of iron, inlaid with silver, shibuichi and gold with four

panes, signed Mitsutaka Ikkoikusai, for $70,000, in addition to several

smaller works.

Jean Schaefer of Flying Cranes, which also specializes in fine Japanese works,

said that while for her the show was not as strong as the last fall's

presentation, sales were good during the preview and again on Saturday.

"In addition to porcelain, baskets remain very popular," she reported,

pointing out that quality Japanese basketry is quite important to Flying

Cranes, which opened a gallery devoted to fine Japanese baskets last November.

Milan's Carlo Cristi sold, among other things, a very rare Tibetan gilded

bronze Fourteenth Century Padmapani and a Sixth Century Indian Grupta in terra

cotta

Londoner Arthur Milner said that throughout the show, while buying remained

eclectic, quality metalwork seemed to dominate. And Moke Mokotoff, New York,

said that for him, the show was "much stronger than the weather would suggest.

Sometimes a smaller crowd represents much more serious collectors, and we

certainly saw them."

The uncertainty created by a natural disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane

Floyd also led to much more conservative buying patterns, evident throughout

Asia Week. The surprise was that so many attended the show and that sales were

sufficiently active, that several exhibitors had excellent sales and by show's

end on Saturday, most were pleasantly surprised that they had done so well.