Chinese furniture (2011/10/21)
   Dr. Yip is selling half of his collection, mainly duplicates. The 68 lots include beds, bookshelves, 3 pairs of chairs, 16 tables, 3 screens, several cabinets, a footrest and an amazing variety of stands for basins, incense burners, clothes, braziers and weighing scales. Most of the pieces are huanghuali, many in the severely plain style favored by Westerners.
   It is a serious collection. It has been featured in 17 exhibitions of Chinese furniture, most recently at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. For five years, Dr. Yip has also been putting together a book on the history of Chinese furniture. ''I have already signed up nine authors, including two archaeologists and a museum curator,'' he said. ''I don't have a publisher yet, but the book should come out in Chinese in a couple of years. Then we will translate it.''
   For guidance in organizing his sale, Dr. Yip went to Timothy Sammons, an Englishman who acts as an agent on behalf of art sellers. ''My role is a cross between consulting and brokering, and often involves estate planning,'' said Mr. Sammons, a lawyer with offices in London and New York. Coincidentally, he was at Sotheby's for 14 years in the Chinese department, both in New York and in Hong Kong. ''Dr. Yip's is the largest sale of Ming furniture at auction since the Renaissance sale,'' Mr. Sammons said, referring to Christie's $11.2 million sale of 107 lots from the former Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in Renaissance, Calif., in 1996.
   He advised Dr. Yip to sell at Christie's. ''I am not employed by any auction house,'' Mr. Sammons said. ''Dr. Yip and I considered selling the collection privately, but there are too many pieces. If there is a possibility of reaching new markets, an auction is the way to do it.'' Dr. Yip concurred. ''Classical Chinese furniture is more prized in the West than Asia,'' he said. ''They look at it in terms of function. In the West, it has become a sculptural art form.'' His timing may be good. ''I'm the only kid on the block who is willing to sell some of his Chinese furniture right now,'' he said.
   Then came the question of location. ''I advised Dr. Yip to sell in New York, not Hong Kong, though we did manage to have an exhibition there in April, which isn't normally done, due to space constrictions,'' Mr. Sammons continued. ''This allowed people to come in from mainland China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. On the strength of that, some Chinese have applied for visas to come to New York for the sale. Others will bid by phone.''
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