Huanghuali furniture and Chinese porcelains headline Asian decorative arts auction at Bonhams

A huanghuali altar table. Late 20th century, 33 3/4 x 59 3/4 x 16 3/8 in. Est. $5,000-7,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

Bonhams announces its Asian Decorative Arts sale on November 15 in San Francisco. The auction will feature a strong variety of fresh property from private collections and institutions in this 600 lot session, over 500 of which are Chinese. The sale will include a broad selection of 19th and late 20th century huanghuali and hardwood furniture from a Los Angeles collection and others, as well as an assortment of objects from the scholar’s table, including many from the Connor Prairie Museum. The single largest concentration in the sale is a fine selection of Chinese porcelains, including Blanc de Chine and polychrome enamels. Also on offer will be a wide array of fine snuff bottles from various collections.

A dark grey nephrite jade snuff bottle. 2 1/8in (5.3cm) high. Est. $3,000-4,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

Headlining the sale is a great selection of Chinese huanghuali and hardwood furniture from a Los Angeles collection. The most noteworthy pieces include a huanghuali altar table, late 20th century (est. $5,000-7,000), a pair of Ming style hardwood book cases, late 20th century (est. $6,000-8,000) and a pair of huanghuali and mixed wood yoke back chairs (est. $5,000-7,000).

There will also be an excellent assortment of over 150 lots of Chinese decorative porcelains on offer, with special emphasis on monochrome and blue and white wares for the domestic and export market. Of the monochrome pieces, there are a number of interesting Dehua figurines, most notably an unusual enameled porcelain figure of Guanyin and child on a lotus base from the 17th-18th century (est. $2,000-3,000). A selection of excellent polychrome enamels will also be available, including a pair of 19th century powder blue ground vases with famille verte reserve decoration bearing Kangxi marks (est. $3,000-5,000).

Many objects for the scholar’s table will also be featured, notably a selection of hard and soft wood brush pots. Among these is an interesting hardstone inlaid huanghuali brush pot with elegant figuring to the grain from the Connor Prairie Museum collection (est. $1,000-1,500).

A fine selection of over 40 decorative jades will be on offer as well, including an exceptional pieced and carved Mughal style footed bowl and cover from the late Qing dynasty (est. $3,000-5,000).

Continuing on the successes of the June sale, a broad selection of snuff bottles will be available from different collections. Of the 71 snuff bottle lots, there are a number of excellent single lots, including a dark grey nephrite jade snuff bottle from a Southern California collector (est. $3,000-4,000), a banded agate snuff bottle from the collection of the late Norman Stiller (est. $1,000-1,500), a blue overlaid clear glass snuff bottle (est. $2,000-3,000) and a small rock crystal snuff bottle (est. $2,000-3,000), both from the collection of Frederick Pierson.

There is a small but select group of 43 lots of Japanese art, over 20 of which are screens. Also on offer in the Japanese section will be Imari porcelain, metalwork, and lacquer. A selection of exceptional prints will be available, including some unusual color woodcuts by Chiura Obata (1885-1975), namely Setting Sun in the Sacramento Valley, 1930 (est. $3,000-5,000); and Clouds, Upper Lyell Trail, Lyell Fork, 1930 (est. $2,000-3,000).

The sale will also include a small selection of Korean ceramics, and Himalayan and Southeast Asian metal work.