Larasati Auctioneers

Jakarta, 11 February 2007 - LARASATI kicked off her 2007 sale in Jakarta on Sunday, 11 February at the Aryaduta Hotel.
82% of the 191 lots offered found new homes, giving a total sales of Rp 7,87 billion. The sale was well attended especially considering the flood that had swamped Jakarta just a few days back.

Although prices did not go sky-rocketing for many of the star lots, but all fetched respectable prices.

LARASATI’s biggest taking of the day was the cover lot by Willem Gerard Hofker titled “Melasti” Ceremony from Denpasar to Sanur (lot 180) which was sold for Rp 1.089.000.000, while Hendra Gunawan’s “Ngerumpi” (lot 82) and Affandi’s “Feeding Frenzy“ (lot 83) raked in Rp Rp 538.200.000 and Rp 491.400.000 respectively.

The best performer of the old master’s works, however, was Lee Man Fong’s “Naik Kerbau di Pagi Hari“ (lot 31) that brought in Rp 641.000.000, which was significantly above its middle estimate.

On the Indo-Euro section, the sale saw an impressive performance by the Indo-Euro works with Roland Strasser’s “A Man with Cockerel” (lot 113) leading the pack, fetching Rp 187.200.000. On the Bali section, IGA Winarata’s “Suasana Pagi Hari di Bali” (lot 167) gave the highest taking when it was sold for Rp 52.650.000.

It was also a day of recognition for Indonesia’s print making world when an album consisting 11 prints created by various prominent artists such as But Mochtar, Mochtar Apin, and Popo Iskandar titled “Liberte” (lot 74) made an impressive debut at LARASATI. Bidding started at Rp 1 million and a few minutes later it was sold for Rp 14.040.000, almost six times higher than its middle estimate.

The modern and contemporary section of the sale produced some surprises too, most notably was Didik Nurhadi’s “Welcome Democracy” (lot 131) which brought in Rp 87.750.000, a new record for the artist.

LARASATI will hold her next auction in Singapore on April 30 2007 at the Marriott Hotel, featuring Southeast Asian, Chinese and Indian modern & contemporary art.

Marriot Hotel - Singapore, Monday, 23 October 2006 - Larasati Auctioneers managed to pull in SGD 2,261,354 at her 8th sale in Singapore when 106 lots from the collection found new homes.

Bali, 15 July 2006 - It was BALI HIGH at the Maya Ubud Spa and Resort Bali, as LARASATI Auctioneers spearheaded the first ever auction of international standard to be held on this Island of the Gods on Saturday, 15 July 2006.

Staged as part of the Bali Revival (BALI BANGKIT) event, the auction was primarily aimed to revitalize and elevate Balinese traditional paintings and sculptures to a higher respected level.

Over 150 people flocked the saleroom which could only accommodate not more than 100 people under normal circumstances. Bidding was extremely active, fierce, and emotional at times with prices going through the roof for most of the lots. Towards the end, the crowd became so enthusiastic that some bidders started shouting out the prices they were willing to pay which were much higher than what the auctioneer was offering.

When the hammer went down on the last lot, over 83% of the lots had found buyers, giving total sales of IDR 4,7 billion (USD 520,000), way above the expected amount targeted at around IDR 3 billion (USD 330,000).

What is even more impressive is the fact that LARASATI sold 99% of the total lots offered on the Balinese traditional paintings, which made up the main collection.

LARASATI biggest taking of the day was Arie Smit “View of a Temple” (lot 92) which raked in Rp 561.600.000, over three times higher than its middle estimate. Among the emotional highlights were works by I Nyoman Lesug “Bali Life” (lot 85), I Wayan Djudjul “Preparing for a Show” (lot 43), Ida Bagus Made Pugug “Bali Life” (lot 68), and I Nyoman Daging “Bali Life” (lot 86), which respectively fetched in Rp 140.400.000, Rp 72.540.000, Rp 70.200.000, and Rp 64.350.000.

Other highlights included Willem Dooijewaard “A Balinese Girl Selling Fruit” (lot 129) that brought in Rp 210.600.000, Sunaryo “Barong” (lot 34) sold at Rp 257.400.000, and Roderick Knudslien “Pink Fighters” (lot 121) which fetched in Rp 81.900.000. Last but not least was the cover lot “Kendang Player” by I Made Sukada (lot 102). Bidding started at below 30 millions but within a few minutes the price went up over 5 times as much and finally raked in Rp 152.100.000.

“This has to be one of the most exciting and memorable auctions ever held in Indonesia. We achieved our goal, and many collectors are now looking with a lot more enthusiasm and respect at the Balinese works. Fantastic atmosphere, fantastic crowd, and fantastic results!“ - Mr. Daniel Komala (President Director, LARASATI Auctioneers)

Singapore, 15 April 2006 - Over 70% of the 131 lots offered found buyers at LARASATI – ‘Pictures of Asia Fine Art Auction’, held at the Marriott Hotel, Singapore on Saturday, 15 April 2006, generating total sales of SGD 2,4 million.

The auction saw active bidding with packed attendance of around 300 people.

Intense competition resulted on respectable prices for exceptional pieces. Among others were the cover lot, “Performance Preparation” by Indonesia’s master Abdul Aziz which raked in SGD 233,000 and “Three Horses” by Lee Man Fong that was sold for SGD 175,500.

LARASATI’s highest taking for the day was a stunning image of “Mother Teresa” by one of India’s most renowned contemporary artists, Maqbool Fida Husain, which pulled in SGD 322,600.

Other highlights included a dramatic work by Zeng Shanqing from China titled: “Happy Years No. 23” and a radiant painting by Indo-European master Le Mayeur, “The Dance” which was sold for SGD 128,700 and SGD 152,100 respectively.

“Collectors are very selective these days and we had a very serious crowd this afternoon. They bid very intensely for top notch lots and young promising artists.

With the addition of the contemporary Indian art that was taking the stage for the first time ever in Singapore, we now had a very good cross section of Asian modern and contemporary collection.” - Mr. Daniel Komala (President Director, LARASATI Auctioneers)

Attended by more than 300 collectors and art enthusiasts LARASATI sold 81% of the 105 lots offered, scoring a total sales of around SGD 2,6 million.

For the first time ever an Antonio Blanco’s oil (“Tjempaka” – lot 106) graces the cover of an auction catalog despite his great accomplishment as an artist. What made the event even more unique and special was the fact that the model of the painting, Tjempaka Blanco, attended the auction. Bidding started at SGD 30,000, but few minutes later, the Blanco raked in SGD 233,000, a new world record for an unsigned work by the artist and making it second most expensive Blanco in the world today (the highest was achieved at LARASATI auction in April 2004 “Balinese Dancer”, which raked in SGD 249,500).

A big round of applause also followed the sale of Affandi’s “Me and My Cigar” (lot 92) and Wu Guanzhong’s “Boulders near the White-walled House” (lot 64), which fetched SGD 389,800 and SGD 322,600 respectively. “Me and My Cigar” now rates among the most valuable Affandi’s Self Portraits, while the little oil by Wu Guanzhong, measuring 45 x 45 cm, is apparently the most expensive Wu Guanzhong today of that size.

Other highlights on the Old Masters include works by Indonesia’s Affandi “Andong and Banyan Tree” (Lot 94) which fetched SGD 345,000, Holland’s Isaac Israels “Wayang” (lot 18) which was sold for SGD 128,700, and Switzerland’s Theo Meier “Woman with a Child” (lot 99), which brought in SGD 93,600.

On the New Contemporary section, China’s Fang Lijun “2002.10.01” (lot36), fetched SGD 76,050, which is also a new mark for him.

Last but not least was the outstanding performance by the Vietnamese artists. It was a sell-out section with Nguyen Thanh Binh’s “Ballerinas” (lot 50) topped the list by raking in SGD 28,080, by far a new record for artist.

Larasati kicked off her boutique 2005 sale in Singapore on Saturday, 9 April at the Marriott Hotel.

Over 80% of the 96 lots offered found buyers, giving total sales of S$ 2.1 million. Close to 250 people witnessed the auction, a significant increase in number as compared to that of October 2004 attendance when some 200 art enthusiasts turned up at the event.

The hottest highlight of the sale was the cover lot (47) an exceptional 1953, oil on canvas, by Affandi, depicting a boy on a wooden rocking horse. The lot was first offered at S$ 80,000 and a few minutes later fetched S$ 434,600 (including premium), making it the most expensive “Boy” by Affandi to date.

The other highlights included Le Mayeur’s “Temple Festival” (lot 34), Lee Man Fong’s “Riding a Water Buffalo” (lot 20), and Yue Minjun’s “Kites” (lot 63), which were sold for S$ 210,600, S$ 117,000, and S$ 117,000 respectively.

It was also a day of recognition for Singapore pioneer artists when 2 important pieces by Liu Kang (lot 79) and Chen Wen Hsi (lot 83) fetched respectable prices of S$ 37,440 and S$ 64,350.

The contemporary section of the sale produced some surprises too. Among others were works by Indonesia’s Popo Iskandar (lot 40) and Thailand’s young artist, Bencharong (lot 51) that raked in S$ 52,650 and S$ 15,210 respectively – five times higher than their mid estimates.

Courtesy of The PEAK Indonesia - Volume 18 - No. 1 - Page 76-77

On 3 April, 2004, Larasati returned to the Raffles Hotel, Singapore to hold her third auction and hammered off S$ 2.5 million to achieve a total sale of just under S$ 3 million with 80% of the 88 lots sold, exceeding its target of S$ 2 million.

The second auction was held at the Marriott Hotel, Singapore on 9 October, 2004. 80% of the 106 lots were sold; giving a total sale of S$ 2 million, and a grand total of S$ 4.9 million for the year 2004, approximately 15% higher as compared to that of year 2003 (S$ 4.3 million).

Year 2004 witnessed a significant increase in attendance. At each auction, the saleroom was packed with 250 people, dominated by foreign collectors coming from Indonesia, The Philippines, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

More record breaking prices were achieved. In April 2004, “Balinese Dancer”, a rare oil on canvas by the late Antonio Blanco fetched S$ 249,500, breaking the record previously achieved at Christie’s Hong Kong in April 2002, when “The Dream” by Blanco fetched HK$ 1,064,100 (S$ 229,484).

Then in October 2004, it was a 1945 oil on canvas titled “Balinese Girl”, measuring 33 x 25 cm, by Willem Gerard Hofker (lot 42), that broke the record. The painting was sold for at S$ 183,500, making it the most expensive Hofker today of that size.