In just over a week and a half's time, Christie's Asian week will start, offering art and antiques from China, Japan, India and Korea worth many millions.
Last year saw many wonderful collections and individual items fought over furiously, with highlights such as a celadon-glazed carved baluster vase from the Gordon collection. The Qing dynasty porcelain realised $7.9m.
One of the dates to watch is March 20, when the Doris Wiener collection of artifacts from Gandhara, the Himalayas, India and Southeast Asia goes under the hammer. A leading figure in collecting and distributing works of this kind, the 400 lots are likely to be exceptional without exception, as it were.
 Somaskanda Indian sculpture |
The likely top lot is a bronze group of Somaskanda, estimated at $800,000-1,200,000. Hailing from Southern India of the Chola period, (11th century), bronzes such as these would be carried out of the temple in Brahmanical South India so that the many who were not granted access to the innermost sanctum might view and be viewed by these gods.
Somaskanda refers to the goddess Shiva together with Uma and their son Skanda. Skanda, who is present in only a handful of surviving scriptures stands between them.
A particularly elegant and well crafted example, and still in exceptional condition, it was previously exhibited at part of Vidhya Dehejia's important exhibition. Indian collectibles are highly coveted with increasing numbers of wealthy collectors in the country eager to snap up works of significance and quality.
The auction takes place in New York.
