A renewed energy is returning to the Japanese works of art market. At a time when the best Chinese works of art are undeniably expensive, some collectors are casting their net wider to embrace other aspects of the vast Asian art panoply. Sworders’ continued championing of ‘value for money’ Japanese works of art has been rewarded with some strong results for top-drawer Meiji period (1868-1912) metalwork and Satsuma in particular. Sold in November 2021, a silver and gold inlaid iron vase with a design of cranes signed Gyokutosai (£2,860) and a Satsuma vase signed Meizan (£1,820) were both signs of a return to form in this area.
There is also a thriving market for Japanese modern and contemporary paintings – in May 2020 we took £14,300 for Homage, an ink painting by Toko Shinoda (b.1913) – while earlier works from the Edo period can also bring impressive sums.
Unusually for an Asian art sale, the top price at Sworders' May 2019 sale was for a Japanese work of art – a rare early to mid-17th century export ware lacquer casket decorated in gold hiramaki-e, takamakie and nashiji techniques on a black ground. It sold well above estimate to a Hong Kong buyer bidding via the internet at £51,040.
To find out more about our forthcoming sales or talk further about potential consignments, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our specialist team.
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During the latter half of the 19th century, North Indian calligraphers based in Delhi were working through a transformative period, as the Mughal Empire’s official patronage waned and British colonial influence expanded.
11 May 2026
In Japan, sound carries meaning far beyond what we hear. Few objects embody this idea more powerfully than the bonsho, large temple bells whose resonant tones have marked the passage of time, called communities to reflection, and echoed through centuries of spiritual life.
1 May 2026
The term ‘Company School’ refers to a genre of painting that emerged in India in the late 18th and 19th centuries, flourishing under the patronage of British East India Company officials, their families, and other European residents in India. Sworders Asian & Islamic Art department is pleased to present a curated selection of these wonderfully insightful works in their next auction on Friday 15 May.
20 April 2026
