Art Market Magazine - Visit zone-secure.net
Art Market Magazine - Visit zone-secure.net
Art Market Magazine - Visit zone-secure.net
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THE MAGAZINE AUCTION RESULTS<br />
Chinese Republic<br />
Wang Dafan (1888 -1961), china<br />
porcelain plaque with enamel<br />
polychrome decoration. 42 x 25.5 cm.<br />
66 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 23<br />
€74,998<br />
Imperial Chinese porcelains have been throwing<br />
auction enthusiasts into a frenzy for years. But some<br />
time ago, works produced under the Republic of China<br />
also entered the picture, even without the rubber<br />
stamp of a precious imperial pedigree. Estimated at<br />
€200 and knocked down for €74,998 on 13 February at<br />
Drouot (Pierre Bergé auction house), this porcelain<br />
plaque by Wang Dafan bears witness to the new craze.<br />
The world record for this artist, CNY9.2 M ($1.4 M;<br />
source: <strong>Art</strong><strong>net</strong>) was set at Poly by a large porcelain<br />
plaque depicting an offering being made to a group of<br />
dignitaries. For a vase, a record of CNY5.98 M<br />
($939,011) was achieved in June last year at the Beijing<br />
Council International Auction Co. by a 1928 square<br />
model decorated with figures in landscapes. Outside<br />
China, the highest price, £241,250 ($384,400), went on<br />
10 November 2011 (at Bonhams London) to a plaque<br />
from around 1930 (83 x 23 cm) showing Yin Shi and<br />
You Zuo awaiting the arrival of their teacher, Cheng Yi.<br />
After the end of the Qing dynasty, measures were<br />
taken to deal with the production crisis of Chinese<br />
ceramics, which were encountering strong<br />
competition from Japan with imports and from<br />
Europe with exports. Various reforms were introduced<br />
at the porcelain capital, Jingdezhen, including the<br />
development of private workshops specialising in<br />
artistic creation, as opposed to anonymous mass<br />
production. Taking up the fencai enamels of the<br />
Famille Rose, but treating them in a more lively<br />
manner, Wang Xiaotang and Pan Taoyu were the<br />
pioneers of this new style. Some of Pan Taoyu's<br />
students created the "Eight Friends of Zhushan" group,<br />
one of whom was Wang Dafan. He excelled in the<br />
representation of human figures. His masterful skill can<br />
be seen in the soft shades and expressive face of this<br />
immortal being offered a peony on a tray. S. A.