The highest earner among the 558 lots on offer was a Chinese early Republican period, four-panel scroll painting which sold for R432440 - more than four times the estimate.
This painting formed part of an impressive selection of English and Far Eastern art, furniture and decorative items acquired by English-born collectors Charles and Muriel Rycroft who moved to Cape Town and purchased Harcroft House in the early 1950s.
Chinese and Japanese artefacts performed exceptionally well at the auction with a 10-panel painting from the Qing dynasty of an aristocrat’s court eventually selling for R341400. A pair of blue Japanese cloisonné vases achieved R227600, also well above the estimate.
The best-selling South African painting was a still life by Freida Lock, which achieved R102420.
The sale attracted broad interest from local and international buyers with bids coming from China, Germany, the US, England and Russia.