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€40,900
The art of war
The total result of this sale of Asian archaeological and art
objects, staged on 27 March by the Paris auction house Thierry
de Maigret, was €512,830, of which €40,900 went to a complete
suit of tachi-do armour with a hanging wisteria crest, the prerogative
of several great daimyo families. Its sixty-two plate sujibachi
helmet has a maedate (helmet top accessory) representing
an oni (demon), with a ressei ("fierce expression") mask in
iron, lacquered red. The rest of the armour is also lacquered red,
and has blue lacing.
AUCTION RESULTS THE MAGAZINE
€81,787
Bamboo perfume-burner
On 28 March in Paris (Ader), this perfume burner from
the Qianlong period intoxicated bidders to the point of
paying €81,787 for an object with an estimate no
higher than €20,000. Its originality lay in its material:
bamboo. And it is noteworthy that it obtained this
result despite the announcement of two restorations to
the feet, and the later addition of a duck-shaped white
nephrite handle. Bamboo is a material commonly used
to make objects in Asia. The plant is also employed in
construction and medicine, and even found in food!
These many uses are shored up by an intellectual
aspect, as the plant was the favourite symbol of Confucians,
and Taoist ascetics would use a nine-knot
bamboo as a walking stick. For Confucius, it represented
constancy and unfailing friendship. Longevity is
another of its virtues, as the plant always stays green.
S. A.
N° 25 I GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL
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