Waiting For Danh Vo

a nested pair of imariware plates from japan with soft octagonal shape, a red field with three floral medallions surrounding a blue bouquet/vase motif, both plates are of identical pattern, but one is slightly smaller than the other. this pair is a declared artwork edition by danh vo from 2009, which was put up for sale at christies uk in 2015 and 2025
Danh Vo, Untitled, 2009, two Imari plates that once belonged to Gen. Lyman Lemnitzer, ed. 2/12, not sold at Christie’s on 3 July 2025

I have been making intermittent but always unsuccessful sweeps of Imari ware online, in hopes of finding the pair of dishes that got away in 2018, the ones that looked uniquely identical to the edition Danh Vo created in 2009, but which, lacking any reported provenance or. attribution, ended up at a Florida estate auction for $70, despite my best attempts to bid $80.

While focused on that elusive dishware, though, I completely missed the reappearance at Christie’s last July of Danh Vo’s thoroughly documented example which did not sell for GBP4-6,000, even when the opening bid was lowered to GBP3,000. That edition, 2/12, turns out to be the same edition that didn’t sell in 2015 for GBP 10-15,000.

I guess all I have to do is sit tight and let the market work itself out, and I’ll have my $100 Danh Vo plates one way or another. Or a reasonable facsimile.

Previously, related: Danh Vo: Shop The Look