Sotheby's auction closing tomorrow

[Darcy]

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-samurai-Japanese-arms-and-armour-2

 

Disclaimer, I have a few things in this.

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

That Daisho koshirae.....wow!

[kissakai]

I wonder why there is such a difference in price for these two Hizen blades

 

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-samurai-Japanese-arms-and-armour-2/a-hizen-tachi-signed-hizen-kuni-ju-daijo-fujiwara

A wakizashi, Signed Heian-jo Fujiwara Nobuyoshi. Edo period, 17th century

Estimate: £35,000 - £40,000
Starting bid: £28,000

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-samurai-Japanese-arms-and-armour-2/a-hizen-katana-signed-hizen-no-kuni-yamato-no

A Hizen katana, Signed Hizen no kuni Yamato no Daijo Fujiwara Kanehiro (Yamato no Daijo Fujiwara Kanehiro from Hizen Province). Edo period, 17th century

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000
Starting bid: £3,000

 

[Jussi Ekholm]

At least for me, for the first item you linked lot 55 shows actually wrong pictures. It shows the pictures of lot 57 katana attributed to Kashū Kagemitsu (which in my opinion has an unrealistic estimate based on the info I can see, like several swords in this auction seem to have).

 

I do not know much about armor but I do think there are several really nice armors in this auction. As for swords to me this seems like a weak auction lot in general, although there are few interesting swords too.

[Brian]

The daisho koshirae would purchase someone a nice house in Cape Town
 

[Ken-Hawaii]

Grev, I'm tempted to say that it must be that extra centimeter, but it's more likely that the sellers just valued their blades differently. You can generally tell an auction company where to set the starting bid, thereby setting the minimum you're willing to accept. You'll note that the less-expensive blade sold, while the other one didn't get any bids.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hammer price on that incredible Daisho.....$411,000USD........!

[BIG]

Sotheby`s auction results..

 

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-samurai-Japanese-arms-and-armour-2?locale=en

 

BEST

[BIG]

Same procedure as last auction..

[kissakai]

Any outstanding items here

There were a couple I was interested in but above my pay limit

 

[Ronin 47]

Does anyone care to explain this one to me?

 

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-samurai-Japanese-arms-and-armour-2/a-katana-signed-tenmangu-ni-oite-rokujunichi-kyoku

 

126,000 GBP???

 

Umm, I don't get it?

[SteveM]

Same sword as was on the Aoi site (below).

 

I don't get it either. 

 

https://sword-auction.com/en/product/5813/as21112-刀行平作於天満宮六十日極精進鍛之/

[Shugyosha]

Good spot Steve. 1,350,000 JPY marked up to £126,000 - nice work if you can get it. The price it sold for on Aoi seems plausible, no idea why someone would pay the Sotheby's price. Maybe the long signature makes it look more interesting to those with lots of money but little feel for the market.

[YOJIMBO]

38 minutes ago, Shugyosha said:

Dobré místo Steve. 1 350 000 JPY označených až na 126 000 GBP – pěkná práce, pokud ji můžete získat. Cena, za kterou se to prodalo na Aoi, se zdá být pravděpodobné, netuším, proč by někdo platil cenu Sotheby's. Možná díky dlouhému podpisu to vypadá zajímavěji pro ty, kteří mají spoustu peněz, ale nemají cit pro trh.

laundering ? 

[Shugyosha]

Maybe. A number of armour items went for large amounts over the estimate. That said, money laundering regulations in the UK are pretty tight so I’d be surprised if major auction houses were a conduit for it. 
 

The Sotheby’s estimate for this katana was £25k to £30k which suggests Aoi screwed up with their auction price and the buyer was using Sotheby’s to flip it. 
 

 

[YOJIMBO]

11 minutes ago, Shugyosha said:

 

Odhad Sotheby's za tuto katanu byl 25 000 až 30 000 £, což naznačuje, že Aoi to zpackali se svou aukční cenou a kupující k jejímu převrácení používal Sotheby's. 
 

 

I do not agree. Aoi is much more educated than sothebys. 

[Shugyosha]

13 minutes ago, YOJIMBO said:

I do not agree. Aoi is much more educated than sothebys. 

But, as far as this case is concerned, maybe not as well educated as the  collector from Los Angeles who made more than 1200% profit on the deal.
 

He did pretty well with his other items in the auction too but not so ridiculously so. We’ll never know the real reason unfortunately but it is fun to speculate. 

[YOJIMBO]

Finding a fool who overpays does not mean that you are educated, but that you have met a fool who knows nothing.

what makes the sword special?

[Gakusee]

You guys miss out on the fact that the sword had nice (but not exceptional) fittings and ito, which just happen to be a good color match for some of the armour that also sold there. 

[Curran]

6 hours ago, YOJIMBO said:

Finding a fool who overpays does not mean that you are educated, but that you have met a fool who knows nothing.

what makes the sword special?

 

Billionaires who don't give 2 Shlitz.

     This very refined corner of Art world has been blissfully untouched by the ultra wealthy while Japan slowly deflated for 30 year. Then a billionaire or two walked in. Limited supply and a few deep pockets changes the game quickly. Don't expect to add another 0 to prices quickly, but prices will escalate. I was asked about a piece at auction, and I gave my honest opinion that it was undervalued at +20k. I thought it worth more in the 30-40k. Sooo.... next think I know, the deep pockets bid it up to $200,000.  This was an auction back when the uber wealthy were just starting to Google Translate their way into the market from their country of wealth. I'm just glad not too many of the Dubai and Saudi heavyweights have shown interest yet. They are too busy getting their European street credit up, but haven't ventured too heavily into Japanese, Korean, or Chinese art yet.  I'd hate to see what Samsung vs Saudis would do the very limited supply of higher end Korean art.