Raden Saleh, Le Meyeur lead SE Asian art market
Raden Saleh, Le Meyeur lead SE Asian art market
By Kunang Helmi Picard
SINGAPORE (JP): On viewing day in Singapore a remarkable scene occurred. Standing in front of a striking painting of Legong Dancers resting by Thai artist Rearngsak Boonyavaniskul were two slim and expensively dressed Asian beauties talking to a sophisticated young man.
Gesticulating excitedly, one stated emphatically: "I definitely like this one because of its colors but it's not wide enough, besides, it has a low estimate. I need to find a bigger one to put on my wall!" Cash flow is obviously not always a problem in the Southeast Asian art market. "It is only money," as the auctioneer was heard to exclaim several times.
Perhaps he could tell us if she was one of those mysterious telephone bidders who actually acquired the Raden Saleh -- which was indeed rather large. Unless we are invited to the public inauguration of the new painting, we shall, alas, probably never find out. Let us hope, however, that if she was Indonesian, at least some of Indonesia's art heritage has found its way home.
Tension electrified the air at last Sunday's Christie's auction in Singapore. Bids shot up in rapid succession as bidders' paddles whipped up and down, waiting to catch the Australian auctioneer's attention.
Meanwhile, Raden Saleh's An Indonesian Landscape with People working in a Sawa by a River continued to hang serenely on the wall behind the agitated onlookers.
The large oil painting on canvas surpassed the high estimate of S$200,000, rose to S$500,000 and finally hit the S$580,000 mark through a mysterious last minute telephone call. Even Christie's Southeast Asian painting expert Jop Ubbens was visibly surprised, though he discretely left out the buyer's identity.
One attractive gray on gray painting by Ida Bagus Made was pulled from the auction at the last moment. Rumor has it that an attentive Jakarta lawyer realized that it had illegally disappeared from an important Indonesian collection during the seventies.
This fact, however, did not deter Indonesian buyers, who represent the biggest contingent of paintings customers
According to Ubbens, the buyers' market for Southeast Asian Art is in Singapore, where 70 percent all turnover takes place. Raden Saleh and Le Meyeur lead the market, followed by Hofker and perhaps Lee Man Fong, a Singaporean that often portrayed Indonesian themes.
Interest in the more modern Indonesian painters such as Affandi, Mochtar Apin, Basoeki Abdullah and Hendra is growing. A pen and black ink drawing called Judgement by Bali's 'intellectual artist' I Gusti Nyoman Lempad sold at $38,000, much to noted Balinese galerist Neka's visible satisfaction.
Bid
Interior designer Udi Suharnoko bid only for Anak Agung Gde Sobrat's pen and ink and oil on canvas A Pasar, and walked off with it for slightly more than the high estimate of $50,000.
Charles Andre de la Porte, Chairman of Christie's Holland, flew over specially to attend the weekend sale of Indonesian and other Southeast Asian paintings in Singapore.
"It was really very rewarding and certainly makes up for the jet lag and full appointment book," stated the chairman at a private dinner after the auction.
The public relations officer from Christie's Holland did not have a difficult job. Public attention in Southeast Asia has been at a maximum since the first spectacular sale last year, when a dramatic Raden Saleh painting of an erupting volcano topped $300,0000. Raden Saleh is definitely en vogue and a minor work of his will be up for sale on April 25 in Amsterdam.
For many art enthusiasts such as Guruh Soekarno or collector Mochtar Riady of Lippo, the sale was a welcome opportunity to meet and see the paintings, most of which came from private collections in Holland, Australia, Canada and America.
The event was a casual, elegant and social, complete with telephone bidders and excited onlookers who made their way to the Sir Stamford Room of the Hyatt Regency.
Future Clients
Indeed, some very young future clients were spotted running up and down the aisle, something which could only happen in Asia where children are accepted everywhere.
Perhaps this younger generation will become the buyers for contemporary Vietnamese, Thai or Filipino Art, the next target for Christie's according to Jop Ubbens, who predicts that those countries are due for more publicity.
There were four Filipino paintings available and works from Malaysia and Singapore put up for auction by sellers curious to test the Asian market. Ubbens also noted that Bali was sometimes considered a separate 'country' due to thematic and stylistic differences.
For the Asian market the European provenance of most of the paintings by foreign or Indonesian artists is a guarantee of quality, according to noted Malaysian dealer Yu Chi Chong, based in London.
Pressed for more information, the fine art dealer known for her discretion explained that the condition of the works after years in moderate climates was generally impeccable, especially when compared to the ravaged works from the tropics.
The fact that most had been in storage for a long time also helped eliminate fakes, simply because many owners inherited them and, consequently, have no idea of their worth vis a vis the works of European artists.
Ceramics
Singaporeans were the main buyers of Peranakan Chinese ceramics or jewelry in the auction on Saturday. Peranakan ceramics are very colorful, detailed objects of daily or ritual ware which remind expert Peter Wee of the colorful Pekalongan batiks that were so favored by the Straits Chinese Nyonyas in the past. Five finger bowls, mundane as they may seem, fetched high prices for their rarity.
Now young and wealthy Singaporeans are turning back to their heritage and scouring the markets for the often very floral ceramics including spittoons, barrel stools and ceremonial bridal basins.
Frenzied bidding accompanied the offers of fine, tiny teapots, as well as rare kamchengs -- a sort of rounded pot -- with their covers.
Straits Chinese gold and silver also garnered a lot of interest, as did jewelry. Splendid rose-cut diamond rings and earrings and 'kerosang' sets were available. Silver and pearl traditional jewelry for kebayas with matching earrings, hairpins and brooches were popular, while a rare gold and rose-cut diamond dragon-head bracelet fetched $21,000.
Value
For discerning buyers good value was certainly to be had in all price ranges, from the Raden Saleh landscape to the small but exquisite jewels. The choice of the coveted objects should always be governed by personal taste.
Future trends are never predictable enough to guarantee an investment impervious to market changes, as both Jop Ubbens and Edmond Chin pointed out to an auction first-timer. In short, do not get carried away and check to see that you can afford a possible decrease in value.
Appreciation of the painting, ceramic or piece of jewelry should be paramount in one's choice, apart from size and cost of course. After all, maybe the Asian beauty was right in her reasoning behind the choice of a painting. Only time can tell, and one's bank account.