The 2017 edition of Asia Week New York wrapped up on March 18th with stunning numbers across all Asian Art categories. Over 424 million USD worth of Asian Art was sold and new world records were set for Chinese Archaic Bronzes, Classical Chinese Paintings and Indian works of art.  To coincide with the New York events, Bidsquare and our partners featured numerous Asian themed auctions towards the end of Asia Week, and the results were extraordinary! Lot. 281, A Rare Pair of Lemon Yellow-Glazed Wine Cups with Yongzheng marks (1723-1735); Estimate $30,000 - $50,000 On March 18th, Skinner Auctions in Boston, MA held their Asian Works of Art auction. Their highest realised item, Lot. 281, a Rare Pair of Lemon Yellow-Glazed Wine Cups with Yongzheng marks (1723-1735) sold for $456,000 USD against a conservative estimate of $30,000/$50,000 USD. The...Read More

Close your eyes and spin.  Hammer down on the globe to see where you’ll go first; Ukraine, Egypt, Paris, England, Sweden, Boston, Gabon? The official mode of travel for Bidsquare’s first Themed Auction, Passport to the World, is by fingertip! We’ve conveniently ditched packing, flight delays, currency exchange and jet lag with a “click!” Puddle jump across lots and discover items from some of the finest New York dealers in a curated collaboration of Travel-Inspired Art, Antiques and Collectibles. Lets start by unbuckling the hatch of your Louis Vuitton trunk. The vintage, Parisian suitcases and wardrobes in this catalog all hail from the Manhattan, family owned business, A Second Chance. The boutique has been supplying the Upper East Side with divine, luxury goods from their Lexington Avenue location since 1993. Lot 7, Louis Vuitton Vintage...Read More

It was the gift of some Caravaggio and Vermeer picture books from his mother that first sparked an artistic interest in a young Stephen Scott Young. He went on to attend Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, and at 28 won first prize in a national art competition held by American Artist magazine. Scott Young had developed a real passion for watercolors, and it’s upon these his reputation rests. On Saturday March 25, Brunk Auctions offers collectors not one but two chances to snare a stunning Scott Young watercolor when they stage Day 2 of their March Premier sale. Offered as Lots 599 and 600, they are strongly typical of the artist’s finest work, notable for the strikingly realistic use of watercolor and eloquent simplicity of subject matter. He is often times nostalgic, yet always contemporary. Scott Young is best known for captu...Read More

The psychology behind walking sticks, canes and royal scepters have evolved along side cultural ideals of status, leadership, protection, and even religious rank. Beginning with ancient shepherds who commanded their lands using an Ox bow, all the way through the thrones of Egypt and Europe, past the dandified Dukes and on to Modernity! Now through March 18th, Kimball Sterling Auctioneers and Appraisers, presents their much anticipated and internationally attended, March Antique Cane Auction, exclusively on Bidsquare! Known as experts in the field, this catalog will feature dress canes, gadget and folk art pieces from various collections throughout the United States and Europe.  Although, the symbolism has since been abstracted, blurring the lines between a baller fashion statement and the bourgeois, there is still something about wearing a ...Read More

Bobbie Oskarson wasn’t expecting much the day she paid a visit to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas back in June, 2015. For an eight dollar fee, she gained access to the “Pig Pen,” a 37.5 acre ploughed field where she and others were free to forage for diamonds. She figured she’d put in an hour or so working up a sweat and then head off to grab some lunch. Twenty minutes later she hit the jackpot, unearthing the fifth largest rough diamond ever found in the park. Her life was changed for ever. Within a year, that stone was cut, on site in Arkansas, into the "Esperanza" Diamond, a 147-facet teardrop-shaped "triolette" diamond weighing 4.62 carets. Jeweler Ian Douglas then set the stone in a mount emphasizing its unique shape and size. The Diamond was given the name “Esperanza,” meaning hope in Spanish, by Bobbie Osk...Read More

With the upcoming Asia Week New York auctions from March 9th to 18th, the spotlight will be on the perpetually sizzling hot Chinese art market. In Bidsquare’s last Asian Art blog, we featured some of the top Chinese works of art offered by our partners: March Asian Art Highlights on Bidsquare. For collectors interested in non-Chinese Asian Art, Bidsquare will showcase amazing items from Japan, Korea, India, South East Asia, and the Himalayan region.   Lot 1163, "Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight (Fujiwara Yasumasa Gekka Roteki),” Oban tate-e woodblock triptych in colors, 1883; Estimate $3,000 - $6,000 On March 17th, Rago Auctions Asian sale, will be offering lot 1163, one of the most iconic Japanese ukiyoe-e (floating world) woodblock prints. Titled ‘Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight’, this triptych was made by the...Read More

Prior to this sale, I couldn't remember being entrusted with an important collection whose owner I did not know personally. In this auction, however, there are two. Each unique, as all collections are, Stephen Sachs iron toys and Eberhard Luethkes steam engines are collections that differ in ways well beyond their contents. I didn't have the pleasure of knowing either Stephen or Eberhard while they were alive, but I came to know each of them in handling their treasures. I realized I was vicariously meeting two collectors whose approaches to collecting were as different as the items that intrigued them. Lot 415, Rare Hubley cast iron Indian Say it with Flowers three-wheel delivery motorcycle; Estimate $18,000 - $25,000 When I saw pictures of Stephens toys, I was astounded by the number of items in his collection. When Pook & Pook Vice Presid...Read More

After a slow start to 2017, the Asian Art market is finally waking up from its brief winter slumber. March is always one of the busiest months for Asian Art in North America - with over twenty-five auctions occurring during Asia Week, New York from the 9th to 18th. As always, sale results will be a strong indicator for the market’s direction in the coming months.  To coincide with Asia Week, Bidsquare will be featuring Asian Art sales from two of the larger American regional auction houses. On March 18th, Skinner’s in Boston, MA will be holding their Spring Asian Works of Art auction. Even though Chinese art is still highly represented, the 550 lots also covers items from the Japanese, Indian and Himalayan regions. Lot 202, Jade Boulder, China, 18th Century; Estimate $60,000 - $80,000 Their highest estimated item is lot 202, Chinese Jade Bo...Read More

In the annals of exploration, Captain James Cook is considered an absolute heavyweight. At a time when the British Empire was spreading its wings wide, he made three extensive voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the east coast of Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of the two New Zealand isles. Captain James Cook - a serious man in a time of funny wigs On Saturday, March 18 Rago offers bidders the chance to relive the wonder of Cook’s epic third voyage when they offer a Lot 1854 in their Great Estates sale. Commissioned in the early 19th Century, this book contains over 60 engravings and 20 maps depicting the cultures and geography of the Pacific Islands, including "The Reception of Captain Cook in Hapaee", "A Human Sacrifice, in a Morai, in Ota...Read More

WARNING: The artworks in this sale are going to make you jealous. Hipsters eat your hearts out. This catalog is filled with so much originality, I dont quite know how to fully prepare you for it. I didnt expect to turn over stones and keep finding pockets of intrigue as cool as the two adorning Bruce Springsteens worn out Levis on the "Born in the U.S.A" album cover. But, I did. On March 19th, Material Culture will auction an epic merger of collections in their formally titled, Heart of the Collection | American Self-Taught, Haitian, Jamaican and African Art From the Collections of Jonathan Demme and Ford Wheeler. This sale is a union of many kinds; friendship, culture, artistic vision, design, travel and an compelling amount of intellectual girth. It is not only exciting because of the quality of works being offered but also because of whe...Read More