Vietnamese paintings set to be auctioned in France

Friday, 11:57, 13/10/2023

Sotheby’s Paris will offer a private collection of rare and extraordinary works by the most coveted artists, along with objects from a golden era of Vietnamese art.

The pieces hail from the personal collection of notable Vietnamese patron of the arts, Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lộc (1914-1990), a scholarly collector who befriended the artists he admired and lived surrounded by his art.

Together the artworks in the collection reflect a prevailing passion for Vietnam and its traditions, a nostalgic desire for harmony, as well as the fruits of lifelong friendships with artists.

The auction titled “Magnificence and Regality” will offer works produced between around 1935 and 1970 in various forms, including delicately painted silk masterpieces, magnificent lacquer screens, and exceptional examples of Vietnamese modern art.

The fine art collection includes works by the three pioneering artists Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam, and Nguyen Tuong Lan who helped to establish a new canon of Vietnamese art, thereby elevating traditional crafts to modern forms of expression.

The auction will be preceded by a public exhibition in Sotheby’s Paris galleries taking place from November 3 to November 6.

According to Sotheby’s Paris auction house, Canard et Lotus (Mandarin ducks and lotus) by Le Pho is on offer for an initial price of between US$370,000 and US$530,000. Elsewhere, L'heure du thé en famille (Family teatime) by Le Pho has an initial price of between US$127,000 and US$190,000.

Other works by Vu Cao Dam, Liliums and La Bataille de Coqs (Cockfight), and by Nguyen Tuong Lan, Femme assise (Repose), are being offered from between US$160,000 to US$265,000 at the auction.

Source: VOV