David Battie collection in Sworders sale
A private collection from longstanding BBC Antiques Roadshow specialist David Battie and his wife, Sarah, form the core of Essex auction house Sworders‘ Asian Art sale on May 15-16.
David Battie worked for Sotheby’s in the Ceramics and Oriental Works of Art departments from 1965-99 but is probably best known for his 43 years with the Roadshow, from the first series in 1977 until his retirement in 2020. He has collected Chinese and Japanese ceramics for much of his career, choosing pieces that tell the story of innovation and cultural exchange, from the elegant restraint of Song dynasty monochromes to the vibrant decoration of Ming and Qing export wares.
Sworders specialist Yexue Li commented: “David Battie’s deep knowledge and personal engagement with these works breathe life into the collection. The sale is a great opportunity for both seasoned collectors and newcomers to experience the enduring allure of East Asian ceramics through his discerning lens.” Many pieces across 111 lots are affordably priced with estimates ranging from just £50 up to £600.
Elsewhere in the sale, a total of 77 lots come from the estate of Desmond ‘Des’ Kirkpatrick (1932-2024). A globetrotter who travelled to every corner of the planet – from Angola to Antarctica – over half a century, he was also an inveterate collector who fitted out his apartment in Lower Manhattan as a mini-museum. In the 1970s, when travel to China, Tibet and Bhutan was restricted, he escorted some of the first tourists to the region where he purchased many cherished pieces.
The New York offering is led by a Yongzheng (1723-1735) mark and period blue and white incense burner, estimated at £10,000-15,000. Painted with dragons chasing flaming pearls amongst clouds, it is inscribed in characters: ‘Enshrined by Guo Dadian from Pingyang, Shanxi, in the year of Siyou in the Yongzheng period (1729)’.
A Guangxu (1875-1908) period rectangular form vase with a lustrous flambé-glaze of oxblood streaked with dark green is expected to bring £500-800, while several early Tibetan bronzes include a diminutive 13th-century bronze lama, modelled seated cross-legged, his hands in Bhumisparsha mudra, 8cm high, estimated at £200-300.
Arthur Probsthain Bookshop, established in 1903, has traded from 41 Great Russell Street, directly opposite the British Museum, since 1905. Founded by the orientalist Arthur Probsthain, the shop has long specialised in literature from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, supplying books to museums, libraries, and collectors around the world.
The 67 lots consigned to Sworders’ sale include one of the rarest early photo books about Shanghai. Issued in 1893 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Settlement it features 12 collotypes of winter views. The preface reads: ‘The winter of 1892-3 will be long referred to as the most severe within the limits of Western memory in Shanghai; and as this year, 1893, is the Jubilee of these great Settlements, a pictorial representation of Shanghai in her winter dress will, we trust, be considered both timely and interesting.’ It was printed by Ogawa Kazumasa (1860-1929), the foremost publisher of collotype books in Tokyo and issued by the Shanghai-based publisher of English language books Kelly & Walsh. The estimate is £700-1,000.
An 1898 Chinese version of Journey to the East of His Imperial Highness the Tsesarevich 1890-1891 is estimated at £200-400. Bound in the original full vellum with gilt decoration, this is one of only a handful of copies known, the others in the National Library of Russia, the Palace Museum, Beijing and the Peking University collection.