Two Chinese seals of soapstone in tianhuang style, amber coloured, cut with landscape, poems and lotus leaves with a frog and insects. Qing, 19th century. H. 6.5 and 7 cm. Hammer price: DKK 1.1 million (€ 190,000 including buyer’s premium).
Two Chinese seals of soapstone in tianhuang style, amber coloured, cut with landscape, poems and lotus leaves with a frog and insects. Qing, 19th century. H. 6.5 and 7 cm. Hammer price: DKK 1.1 million (€ 190,000 including buyer’s premium).

Press release -

Asian Collectors Spend Millions on Treasured Memorabilia

The sale of two small soapstone seals, measuring just 6 and 7 cm in height, went through the roof at the Asian auction in Copenhagen Wednesday afternoon. The price reached DKK 1.1 million (€ 190,000 including buyer’s premium) before the hammer fell, which was more than a hundred times the valuation price of DKK 10,000.

"We saw a clear interest in especially carved soapstone and jade figures at Wednesday’s Asian auction," says Ralph Lexner, Head of the department for Asian art. "Besides the two small soapstone seals, a large number of carved jades were among the overachievers at the auction. We are of course delighted by these results, and we can also see that most of the figures found their way back to their countries of origin in Asia."

The two small soapstone seals come from the English Colonel Norie's Asian Art Collection. Norie acquired the collection while he was stationed in China during the Boxer Rebellion around 1900. It is Norie's Danish grandchild who has sold the collection at auction, and she can be pleased with the sale of the collection’s 29 lots, which achieved a total hammer price of more than DKK 5.3 million (€ 925,000 including buyer’s premium) against a valuation of DKK 871,000. This great result for the collection was also due to a hammer price of DKK 1,020,000 (€ 180,000 including buyer’s premium) for a Chinese Qianlong vase from the collection.

The auction’s highest hammer price was DKK 1,800,000 (€ 315,000 including buyer's premium) for a Chinese Buddha figure. Besides the carved figures, there was great interest in bronzes, fine porcelain objects and thangkas. The Asian auction sold lots for a total of DKK 13,111,000 (€ 2,300,000 including buyer’s premium) against an overall estimate of DKK 5,422,000.

Asian Auction Top 3

1) A Chinese gilt bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, Kangxi 1662-1722. Weight 5920 gr. H. 27 cm. Provenance: Acquired in 1939 in Shanghai by a captain sailing for the East Asiatic Company. Estimate: DKK 75,000. Hammer price: DKK 1.8 million (€ 315,000 including buyer's premium)

2) Two Chinese seals of soapstone in tianhuang style, amber coloured, cut with landscape, poems and lotus leaves with a frog and insects. Qing, 19th century. H. 6.5 and 7 cm. Placed in a small showcase. Provenance: Colonel Evelyn Williams Medows Norie. Estimate: DKK 10,000-20,000. Hammer price: DKK 1.1 million (€ 190,000 including buyer’s premium)

3) A Chinese porcelain vase, sides with dragon heads holding ring handles in relief, decorated in underglaze blue with bands of flowers, foliage, tendrils and waves. Marked Qianlong, but 19th century. H. 25 cm. Provenance: Colonel Evelyn Williams Medows Norie. Estimate: DKK 30,000. Hammer price: DKK 1.02 million (€ 180,000 including buyer’s premium)

...

Topics

Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers is one of Scandinavia’s leading international auction houses, and one of Denmark’s oldest. It all started on 6 October 1948, when Arne Bruun Rasmussen conducted the first traditional auction in the saleroom at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen. Today, Jesper Bruun Rasmussen stands at the helm of the family-run business together with the third generation of the family, his son Frederik and daughter Alexa, and the company’s CEO Jakob Dupont.

In 2004, the first online auction was launched, and today the auction house has expanded to include departments in Copenhagen and Aarhus and representations in Sweden, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain, Italy, Thailand and the US. About 100,000 lots are put up for auction each year at the traditional auctions and daily online auctions. Here you can bid on everything from art, antiques, modern design and jewellery to books, coins, stamps, wine and weaponry.

Contacts

Ralph Lexner

Ralph Lexner

Head of Department Decorative Art & Classic Interior, Asian & Islamic Art + 45 8818 1161

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Colonel Norie's Asian Art Collection at Auction

At Bruun Rasmussen's upcoming Asian auction you can experience both the finest decorative art and get a taste of history as well. Some of the most spectacular lots on the auction will be exhibited in London during "Asian Art Week" (5-8 November) - including decorative art from the collection of the later Colonel and adjutant of George V of Britain, Evelyn Williams Medows Norie (1862-1915).

A small bowl by Lucie Rie was sold for DKK 70,000 (€ 12,000 including buyer’s premium).

A Grand Price for a Very Small Bowl

The year's largest international auction at Bruun Rasmussen ended this past Thursday after two weeks of intense bidding wars in Bredgade, Copenhagen. After the dust had settled, 12 million-kroner hammer prices and several world records had been achieved. As usual, the auction ended with modern design, where 23 six-figure sales were realised, which is quite exceptional.

Bruun Rasmussen – Part of the Bonhams Network

"Going once, going twice. Sold to the lady in the front row". For more than 75 years, the auction house Bruun Rasmussen has sold art, antiques, design, jewellery, wristwatches and collector’s items such as wine, books, coins and stamps. After having been family-owned through three generations, we were bought in 2022 by the English auction house Bonhams, which was founded in England in 1793 and is today one of the world's leading auction houses. We are now part of an international network with a global reach, and we present and sell art where it makes the most sense in relation to potential buyers. This also means that through the network we offer more than 60 categories of items at our auctions.

Art and credibility are at the heart of everything we do. The work in the auction house places great demands on our knowledge of art and trends on the market. Our specialists are the most experienced and competent in the industry, and in the Bonhams Network we share knowledge and communicate across national borders with a large number of international specialists. This way, we can provide the best valuation and advice that have become our trademark – and thereby offer the best lots from all categories and achieve the highest hammer prices for the benefit of our customers.

Tradition and innovation go hand in hand. At Bruun Rasmussen, we are one of Europe's most modern and digital auction houses, and it is only natural for us to adapt to changes in the market. Innovation is part of our DNA, while we are also deeply rooted in our history. The foundation of the company rests on our two types of auctions – Online Auction and Live Auction. Every week we put more than a thousand lots up for auction at bruun-rasmussen.dk, and several times a year we present exclusive lots live in our saleroom. We are proud to sell art and design in virtually every category and price range to and for people all over the world who are driven by the same passion as we are.

We want to be a living centre of culture, and since the autumn of 2023, we have been located in Lyngby north of Copenhagen in a new, modern domicile. Here you can not only explore among all the art objects on display and bid on the exciting auctions, you can also meet our specialists, get an estimate on your own items, consign them for auction, listen to exciting lectures and participate in cultural events. We also have branches in Aarhus and Glostrup and regularly go on valuation trips around Denmark and abroad. Our goal is to always be available and for everyone to have a good experience in our auction house.

Welcome to Bruun Rasmussen – we can help you make a good purchase or achieve a great sale!

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