London holds exhibition of Asian art

A pair of 19th-century Canton enamel vases decorated with flowers, Taoist symbols and gilt bronze elephant handles. Photo Provided to China Daily

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Every June since 2010, a long white marquee has been erected at London's Kensington Gardens, opposite the Royal Albert Hall, to play host to the Art Antiques London. It is a fair of which some 80 galleries showcase their artworks, in an event billed as a cultural highlight of the British summer.

At this year's fair (June 12-18), a special exhibition titled, The Asian Art in London's Pavilion, presented exquisite works from more than two dozen leading dealers of Asian art.

The pavilion at the Art Antiques London, featured a wide range of antique and contemporary pieces including Chinese porcelain, jade, cloisonne enamels, textiles and gilt bronzes of Tibetan people, Japanese netsuke and lacquered pieces and Indian miniatures and stone sculptures.

The exhibition kicked off with strong sales. Art dealers David Baker Asian Art, for instance, were able to sell a 19th-century blanc de chine (white Chinese porcelain used in European art) figure of Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) shortly after it opened.

Apart from attracting collectors from around the world, this year's fair saw a strong turnout of art buyers from the Chinese mainland.

"We generally exhibited in the Far East and thought the pavilion was an opportunity to show our pieces in London, near our gallery," says art dealer Robert Brandt of Brandt Asian Art.

Situated on Bury Street in Mayfair, the dealer exhibited at the pavilion a pair of 19th-century Canton enamel vases, each about 27 centimeters tall and decorated with flowers, Taoist symbols and gilt bronze elephant handles.