Renowned antique dealer and Chinese art collector, James J. Lally, was the center of attention at this season’s New York Asia Week. Both Bonhams and Christie’s dedicated single-owner collection sales to Lally’s impressive collection of Chinese art.
Bonhams presented the auction first, which turned out to be a sold-out show with all 68 lots selling way beyond their estimates. The top lot was a 13-tier neolithic mottled grey jade cong from circa 3000-2500 B.C., which was hammered for an astonishing $1.2 million, 40 times above its low estimate. After fees, it achieved $1.5 million. Other coveted items included a glazed white stoneware jar and cover from Sui dynasty (581 – 618 A.D.), a jade figure of a recumbent beast from 220 to 589 A.D., and a rare silver meiping from the 12th to 13th century.
Highly respected as one of the great scholar-dealers of Chinese art, James Lally has been a leader in the field for more than 50 years. After graduating from Harvard College and Columbia University, he served as a director of Chinese works of art at Sotheby’s in New York and Hong Kong from 1970, and was named president of Sotheby’s in North America. Together with Julian Thompson, director of the Chinese department in London at the time, they paved the way for today’s thriving antiques market in Asia.
Since his departure from the auction house, he founded J.J. Lally & Co. in 1986, at 41 East 57th Street in New York, just a few blocks away from the MoMA. With a reputation for scholarship and connoisseurship, he was a trusted advisor not only to keen collectors but also major museums and collections across the globe, including the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Shanghai Museum, among others.
On March 1, 2021, Lally announced the closure of his gallery, and part of his collection is consigned to Bonhams, and the other is to be sold by Christie’s.
One of the highlights of the Bonhams auction was a large neolithic mottled grey jade cong from the Liangzhu Culture, circa 3000-2500 B.C. This piece was highly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs, and its honorable status continues up to the present, where it could be said to be of blue-chip status in the archaic jade market. The present lot has a total of thirteen tiers, and although some of the carvings have worn away by the passage of time, the emblem of humanoid-deity is still clearly visible at the four corners. The jade cong was sold for $1.5 million.
Another significant piece was a glazed white stoneware jar and cover from the Sui dynasty (581-618 A.D.). White wares from the short-lived Sui dynasty can be characterized by the finely crackled glaze. Without any decorations, these minimalistic monochrome wares embody a timeless elegance that allows us to simply appreciate its form and shape on its own. This jar and cover were sold for $668,175.
In conclusion, James J. Lally’s collection of Chinese art proved to be a major attraction at the New York Asia Week auctions. His extensive knowledge and experience in the field have solidified his reputation as one of the top scholar-dealers of Chinese art, and his collection has generated significant interest and enthusiasm among collectors and connoisseurs alike.
