Stockholms Auktionsverk presents: The Asian Fine Art Sale and The Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts Sale

The Asian Fine Art Sale offers nearly 300 lots spanning more than two millenniums. The valuable early 15th-century Buddha Shakyamuni stands out through its remarkable detailing: every finger joint and drapery fold testifies to the “Golden Age of Yongle” – a period marked by Chinese prosperity and refinement.

“Surprisingly, it was purchased at a flea market in Uppsala purely for its beauty, and has since lived an anonymous life in a private home. One truly wishes this magnificent gilt-bronze Buddha could speak – it is dizzying to imagine what it has witnessed over the past 600 years,” says Elisabet Fellbom, Specialist in Chinese Porcelain, Asian Art and Decorative Arts at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

The auction also includes exquisite Japanese lacquerware, featuring up to 50 layers of perfectly preserved lacquer, along with a selection of Japanese netsuke from the 17th century onward; small, expressive masterpieces that once gave a personal character to traditional garments.

Among the Chinese ceramic highlights are two rare “Immortals” bowls decorated in underglaze blue and copper red, as well as a magnificent blue-and-white Shunzhi vase richly painted across three panels with figural scenes, plant motifs, and classical ornamentation.

The sale also features fine painting, led by the Vietnamese modernist Bui Xuan Phai, whose poetic depictions of Hanoi’s old quarters are today considered among the country’s most important works of art.

The Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts Sale brings together seven centuries of cultural history. Piranesi’s four-volume Le Antichità Romane from 1756 impresses with 218 powerful engravings, while Sir William Hamilton’s spectacular Campi Phlegraei (1776) bursts with hand-coloured volcanic views.

Among the manuscripts are seven mathematical letters by Einstein and a warm correspondence between Greta Garbo and her family. Historical treasures include Vice Admiral Cronstedt’s almanac with notes from the American War of Independence, rare maps by De Wit, Speed and Blaeu, and classic natural-history works by von Wright and Anders Sparrman. The auction concludes with an exclusive group of original documents signed by Emperor Napoleon I and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte.

“The Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts Sale offers thrilling discoveries – both for the first-time visitor and the discerning collector. We are delighted and proud to present this extraordinary journey through time and space – a kaleidoscope of cultural history spanning the last seven centuries,” says Katharina Fahlstedt, Head Curator and Specialist in Books, Maps and Manuscripts at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

The viewings for both auctions open on 28 November at Nybrogatan 32 in Stockholm.
You can find the catalogues here and here.

The Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts Sale will be auctioned on 8 December, and The Asian Fine Art Sale takes place on 11 December.