Brush & Bronze Reveals Gold at Bonhams’ Michael Goedhuis Sale

Michael Goedhuis

Brush and Bronze

17 May 2023

London, New Bond Street

LI HUAYI (b.1948)

Landscape, 2010-2011

There were impressive results for Bonhams’ Michael Goedhuis: Brush & Bronze sale today (Wednesday 17 May 2023) at Bonhams New Bond Street. The curated sale, which offered a selection of Chinese ink paintings by more than 20 key artists of the last four decades (Brush) and bronze sculptures and vessels, mostly focused on those produced from the Song dynasty (960-1279) to the Qing (1644-1911) dynasty (Bronze), made a total of £2,078,000, with 99% sold by lot and 100% sold by value.

The top lot was Landscape, 2010-2011, by Li Huayi (b.1948), which sold for £277,500.

It was in 1975 that Michael Goedhuis left a successful career in investment banking to pursue his interest in art. Dealing initially in Persian, Mughal and Islamic art, he later expanded his activities to cover India, Japan and China. Since the early 1990s he has concentrated on Chinese Modern and Contemporary art and has played a key role in throwing light on the relevance of Chinese Ink art to modern aesthetics. Interviewed by art critic Susan Moore in the latest edition of Bonhams Magazine (spring 2023), Goedhuis said: “It is the ink painters who are truly revolutionary and culturally subversive. They are the most idealistic and intellectually daring of all contemporary Chinese artists.”

Other Highlights of the sale included:

• The leading bronze sculpture in the sale was a rare and important silver-inlaid bronze figure of Guanyin, He Chaozong mark, late Ming Dynasty. Sold for £214,500.

• Old Cypress from the Forbidden City, 2007 by Liu Dan (b.1953). Sold for £227,100.

• A rare documentary bronze seated figure of Guanyin, 17th century. Sold for £82,200.

• A bronze sheep-form incense burner and cover, Ming Dynasty. Sold for £85,980.

• Confrontation of Yin and Yang, 2005 by Wang Dongling (b.1945). Sold or £75,900.

Asaph Hyman, Global Head , Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, said: “It was a privilege to have been entrusted by Michael Goedhuis with his sale of the carefully curated collection of contemporary ink paintings and later bronzes. I am thrilled with the superb sale results, demonstrating first and foremost his foresight, taste and expertise, and secondly the great efforts of the Bonhams team to make this a resounding success.”

Dr Edward Luper, Specialist, Chinese Art Department, said: “Michael Goedhuis is a legendary figure in the world of Chinese art. I hugely enjoyed the opportunity to research and present this wonderful collection, and am delighted with the accolades it received by worldwide collectors.”