Cartier. "Carp" clock with retrograde hand, 1925  © Nick Welsh, Collection Cartier © Cartier

SHANGHAI.- As part of the Cartier Collection tour, the Moment - Eternal Cartier Time Art Exhibition is its 28th stop. Just like a trip through time, the exhibition centers around watch-making and displays more than 180 masterpieces of the craft spanning more than a century. 

The exhibition provides the public with a rare chance to explore Cartier’s history, development of different styles, and aesthetic designs, through multimedia video presentations of Cartier collection artwork, masterpieces by experts, the essence of watchmaking, complicated movements, and innovative technology, as well as live demonstrations by watchmakers. 

Ms. Gong Yan, director of the Shanghai Power Station of Art says, "When we turn our gaze towards the universe, what we see is its past. This is the world that Time displays to us. What then do we see in a timepiece? This is the riddle that the exhibition will decipher for us." 

Curating the event is world-famous designer TokujinYoshioka, awarded Best Designer of the Year twice in a row by I.D. Yoshioka's designs are a seamless blend of modernity and eastern aesthetics. Many of his important works are permanent exhibits at famous art centers such as MoMA and the Centre Georges Pompidou. PSA Director Gong Yan is full of anticipation. "He comes from a country that has realized the pinnacle of purity and incorporated Time into its work. Yoshioka's interpretation of time has fed my curiosity for this exhibition." 

Since its first exhibition in 1989, the Cartier Collection has travelled to authoritative cultural and art institutions across the globe. The collection has been housed at MoMA, the British Museum, and the Grand Palais among other places. The collection has been a driving force in the spread of French art and culture across the world. The collection also has a strong connection to China, having been exhibited at the Shanghai Museum, the Palace Museum in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and the Liaoning Provincial Museum. On the 50th anniversary of the establishing of diplomatic relations between France and the PRC the Cartier Collection is returning to China. As the Chinese public enjoys the time art on display, we also hope to educate about the evolution of and inter-cultural impact of western timepiece art. This will act as a bridge of cultures between France and China.

Cartier. Enameled watch on chatelaine, 1874 © Nick Welsh, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Cartier. Egyptian Clock© Nick Welsh, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Cartier. Model A Mystery Clock, 1914  © Nick Welsh, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Cartier. Portique Mystery Clock, 1923  © Nick Welsh, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Birds Photography by Andrew Zuckerman 

An Important Multi Gem and Gold Flower Study "Bleeding Hearts," Manfred Wild and Eberhard Bank, Idar-Oberstein, Germany. 22.90 x 16.50 x 6.35 cm. Estimate $ 50,000-70,000.

combining an exotic and contemporary styled base with a classically realistic flower spray, this excellent work consists of fifteen flowers carved from ruby rough sourced from the John Saul Mine in Tanzania, East Africa, weighing approximately 152.00 carats total, each tipped with white cacholong opal stamens from the Caspian Sea deposit, the blossoms supported from gold wirework accented with twelve Brazilian emerald leaves weighing approximately 183.50 carats, the complex base constructed from a solid gold framework containing a frosted rock crystal plaque with fluted sides held between a double-sided border consisting of four massive sapphire slices of variegated blue and golden yellow hue, two marquise shape cabochon cut rubies and two triangular cabochon cut emeralds, the top central edge of each side pave set with 109 round brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 1.10 carats total, resting on a footed rock crystal base with gold edging. Hand inscribed: (Maker's mark EB for Eberhard Bank) M. WILD. 

NOTE: The sculpture contains approximately 220.00 grams, or 7.00 troy ounces, of 18 karat gold. 
Accompanied by a removable Russian black obsidian slab with internal LED light source. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida 

NOTE: The power cord for the illuminated base is deficient. 

Condition: One of the carved emerald leaves has broken, sections have been retained

An Opal and Rock Crystal "Snowdrops" Flower Study, Manfred Wild,  Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Height: 19.10 cm. Estimate $ 18,000-22,000.

a masterfully crafted and large scale study, consisting of numerous open blossoms and buds carved from Siberian cacholong opal accented with Russian nephrite leaves of variegated green color speckled with black inclusions, suspended from 18 karat yellow gold textured stems above a bed of gold wirework "moss", the exceptionally clear rock crystal quartz vase with faceted sides and beaded gold banded detail. Hand inscribed: (Maker's mark EB for Eberhard Bank) M. WILD.  

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida 

A Tourmaline, Rock Crystal and Gold Rose Carving, Eberhard Bank, Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Height: 16.50 cm. Estimate $ 12,000-18,000

an exquisite example of the genre, consisting of a complex and delicate rose blossom carved from deep purplish red to pinkish purple tourmaline above a five petal surround carved from dark yellowish green tourmaline supported by an 18 karat yellow gold wirework stem accented with branches extending to the deeply carved blue green tourmaline leaves, the stem embedded in a rock crystal quartz vase with yellow gold banding. Stamp: (Maker's mark EB for Eberhard Bank). 

A Carved Gemstone "Forsythia" Flower Study, Manfred Wild, Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Height: 31.80 cm. Estimate $ 7,000-9,000

of dramatic overall height, consisting of 17 incredibly delicate flowers carved from naturally colored yellow agate centered by gold wirework stamens above silver leaves accented with translucent green enamel, the flowers suspended on a textured 18 karat yellow gold wirework stem, the water clear rock crystal vase with central spherical section and flared top detailed with gold banding. Hand inscribed: M. Wild.  

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida 

A Carved Rose Quartz, Nephrite Jade and Gold "Wild Rose" Flower Study, Eberhard Bank and Manfred Wild, Idar-Oberstein, Germany.13.34 x 8.64 x 5.46 cm. Estimate $ 4,000-6,000 

consisting of one fully open blossom carved from high quality rose quartz, the layered petals carved with undulating shape to a delicately thin edge surrounding an 18 karat yellow gold wirework stamen, together with an unopened rose quartz bud, the flowers suspended from a textured gold wirework stem accented with deep green nephrite leaves with speckled coloration above the fluted form water clear rock crystal quartz vase. Hand inscribed: (Maker's mark EB for Eberhard Bank) M. WILD. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida

A Carved Gemstone and Gold "Blueberries" Flower Study, Manfred Wild,  Idar-Oberstein, Germany.Height: 13.30 cm. Estimate $ 3,000-5,000 

the berries carved from intense blue lapis lazuli providing excellent color contrast against the pale green Russian nephrite leaves, the berries suspended from the 18 karat yellow gold wirework stem supported by the exceptionally clear rock crystal vase. Hand inscribed: (Maker's mark EB for Eberhard Bank) M. WILD. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida

A Carved Gemstone and Gold "Red Currants" Flower Study, Manfred Wild and Eberhard Bank, Idar-Oberstein, Germany.  Height: 16.50 cm. Estimate $ 3,000-5,000.

impressively realistic, the currants composed of highly translucent carnelian spheres capped with black onyx terminals suspended from 18 karat yellow gold wirework stems accented with carved Russian green nephrite leaves above the fluted water clear rock crystal quartz vase. Hand inscribed: (Maker's mark EB for Eberhard Bank) M. WILD. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida

A Carved Gemstone and Gold "Violets" Flower Study, Manfred Wild, Idar-Oberstein, Germany. 9.65 x 5.58 cm. Estimate $ 3,000-5,000

depicting a beautiful bouquet of violets carved from high clarity and intense purple amethyst suspended on numerous 18 karat yellow gold wirework stems accented with Russian green nephrite leaves above a tapered rock crystal vase of excellent clarity. Hand inscribed: M. Wild. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida 

A Carved Gemstone and Gold "Lily-of-the-Valley" Flower Study, Manfred Wild, Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Height: 16.50 cm. Estimate $ 2,000-3,000.

the much beloved flower reproduced in great detail, the blossoms of white Siberian cacholong opal, known for its porcelain like quality, suspended from a substantial wirework stem of 18 karat yellow gold, accented with two gracefully curving translucent green Russian nephrite jade leaves, the stem inserted into the water clear rock crystal quartz base mimicking the appearance of a water filled vase. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida

A Collection of Gold and Hardstone Flora Studies. Blackberry study height: 17.78 cm. Bleeding hearts study height: 12.70 cm. Estimate $ 1,500-2,500.

consisting of an exquisite blackberry study, the ripe black and underripe green berries carved from onyx and nephrite jade respectively, suspended from a textured gold wirework stem accented with carved nephrite jade leaves above the water clear rock crystal quartz vase, together with a "bleeding hearts" study, the blossoms composed of ruby petals and cacholong opal stamens suspended from a textured gold wirework stem accented with carved nephrite jade leaves above a exceptionally clear rock crystal vase.

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida 

A Carved Rock Crystal Flower Study in Vase. 24.13 x 10.16 cm. Estimate $ 600-800.

consisting of two intricately carved rock crystal quartz blossoms with frosted finished and veined detail surrounding wirework stamens containing round mixed cut citrine, blossoms supported by vermeil stems and leaves above the rock crystal base mimicking a water filled vase. 

NOTE: The current lot is deficient one blossom. 

Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida 

NOTE: Stem is deficient one blossom.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, September 16, 2014 at 10AM MST 

Cache-pot godroné, Chine, dynastie Ming (1368-1644), porcelaine. Paris, musée Guimet - musée national des Arts asiatiques. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (musée Guimet, Paris) / Thierry Olliviera

Coupe, Chine, Règne de Hongzhi (1488-1505), dynastie Ming (1368-1644), porcelaine. Paris, musée Guimet - musée national des Arts asiatiques. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (musée Guimet, Paris) / Richard Lambert

Plat à décor de branche, Chine, dynastie Ming, Règne de Jiajing (1522-1566), porcelaine, Fours De Jingdezhen. Ancienne collection Grandidier. G283. Paris, musée Guimet - musée national des Arts asiatiques. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (musée Guimet, Paris) / Thierry Ollivier

Plat dit de Swatow, vers 1630-1650, Chine, dynastie Ming, porcelaine dure, Fours de Zhangzhou. Hauteur : 0.085 m. Diamètre : 0.4 m. Anc. coll. Gasnault ; don A.Dubouché, 1881. ADL529. Limoges, musée Adrien Dubouché. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Limoges, Cité de la céramique) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Coupe, 3e quart 16e siècle, Chine du Sud, dynastie Ming, Règne de Wanli (1573-1620), porcelaine dure. Anc. coll. Gasnault; don A.Dibouché, 1881. ADL527. Limoges, musée Adrien Dubouché. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Limoges, Cité de la céramique) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Pichet, Chine, dynastie Ming, Règne de Chongzhen (1628-1644), porcelaine dure, Fours de Jingdezhen. Hauteur : 0.245 m. Largeur : 0.17 m. Diamètre : 0.12 m. don A.Dubouché, 1870. ADL5963. Limoges, musée Adrien Dubouché. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Limoges, Cité de la céramique) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Bol, 3e quart 16e siècle, Chine, dynastie Ming, Règne de Wanli (1573-1620), porcelaine dure, Fours de Jingdezhen. Anc. coll. Jacquemart; don A.Dubouché, 1875. ADL1940. Limoges, musée Adrien Dubouché. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Limoges, Cité de la céramique) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Rock Vault 2014. Shimmel and Madden Green Prism ring in yellow gold.

Rock Vault 2014. Shimmel and Madden

Rock Vault 2014. Beth Gilmour one-of-a-kind Diachroma earrings in yellow gold with bi-coloured citrines.

Rock Vault 2014. Beth Gilmour Dichroma Collection

Rock Vault 2014. Imogen Belfield Jagged Gems Ring.

Rock Vault 2014. Ornella Iannuzzi Coral Atoll ring in yellow gold, set with a black crystal Australian opal. 

Piero di Cosimo, The Visitation with Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony Abbot, c. 1489/1490, oil on panel, 184.2 x 188.6 cm (72 1/2 x 74 1/4 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection.

Washington, DC—The first major retrospective exhibition ever presented of paintings by the imaginative Italian Renaissance master Piero di Cosimo (1462–1522) will premiere at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, from February 1 through May 3, 2015. Piero di Cosimo: The Poetry of Painting in Renaissance Florence will showcase some 40 of the artist's most compelling works. With themes ranging from the pagan to the divine, the works include loans from churches in Italy and one of his greatest masterpieces, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Alexandria, Peter, and John the Evangelist with Angels (completed by 1493), from the Museo degli Innocenti, Florence. Several important paintings will undergo conservation treatment before the exhibition, including the Gallery'sVisitation with Saints Nicholas of Bari and Anthony Abbot (c. 1489–1490)—one of the artist's largest surviving works.

"We are delighted to share the brilliance of Piero di Cosimo—the Renaissance's most spellbinding storyteller—with our visitors," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art, Washington. "This is also the first time the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence has co-organized a paintings exhibition with another museum and we look forward to many more projects with our Italian partners."

After Washington, a different version of the exhibition, including work by Piero's contemporaries, will be on view at the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence from June 23 through September 27, 2015, entitled Piero di Cosimo (1462–1522): Pittore fiorentino "eccentrico" fra Rinascimento e Maniera.

"No artist has given the world more rare and singular inventions while remaining in the shadow of the Renaissance greats of his time than Piero di Cosimo," said Cristina Acidini, Superintendent of Cultural Heritage for the City and the Museums of Florence. "His beguiling pictorial creations will linger in the imagination of all those who see the exhibition."

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Galleria degli Uffizi, Soprintendenza Speciale per il patrimonio storico, artistico, ed etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze.

The exhibition is supported by Sally Engelhard Pingree and The Charles Engelhard Foundation. The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art provided additional funding.

Exhibition Highlights

Showcased throughout six galleries in the West Building, the paintings on view will include altarpieces, images for private devotion, portraits, and mythological and allegorical scenes—some produced as a series and reunited for the exhibition.

Several religious works influenced by Leonardo, such as the Madonna and Child with Two Musician Angels (c. 1504–1507, Cini Collection), will be on view alongside Piero's fanciful mythological inventions, including the renowned Liberation of Andromeda (c. 1510–1513, Uffizi).

For many prominent families in Renaissance Florence, from the Capponi to the Strozzi, Piero created elaborate fables and singular mythological fantasies, the meanings of which continue to puzzle scholars. A strange and whimsical painting, The Discovery of Honey (c. 1500, Worcester Art Museum), will be reunited with The Misfortunes of Silenus (c. 1500, Harvard Art Museums).The Hunt and The Return from the Hunt (both c. 1485–1500, The Metropolitan Museum of Art) illustrate a struggle for survival between man, satyrs, and wild beasts, with the distinctions not altogether clear among them.

Another of Piero's best-known spalliera panels (paintings set into the wall as wainscoting at about shoulder height, or on large pieces of furniture)—Construction of a Palace (c. 1514–1518, Ringling Museum of Art)—will be on view, along with compelling portraits, including likenesses of the famed architect Giuliano da Sangallo and his father Francesco Giamberti (both c. 1482/1483, Rijksmuseum).

Four paintings will be on view only in Washington: Vulcan and Aeolus (c. 1490, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa), Madonna and Child with Saints Dominic, Nicholas of Bari, Peter, and John the Baptist (Pala del Pugliese) (c. 1481–1485, Saint Louis Art Museum), Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist, Margaret, Martin, and Angels (c. 1515–1518, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa), and one intimately scaled work attributed to Piero, Saint Veronica (c. 1510, private collection).

Piero di Cosimo (1462–1522)

As a pupil of Cosimo Rosselli, Piero di Cosimo began his career around 1480. A painter of the Florentine School and a contemporary of Botticelli, Leonardo, and Michelangelo, Piero was known in his day for his versatility as a painter of many different subjects, from the sacred to the profane, the latter often of beguiling meaning.

"His fantastic inventions rivaled the verses of the ancient poets whose myths and allegories he set out to transform in a wonderfully strange language all his own," said Gretchen Hirschauer, associate curator of Italian and Spanish paintings, National Gallery of Art.

The first and only exhibition on Piero di Cosimo in the United States was held in 1938 at the Schaeffer Galleries, New York, and included seven paintings attributed to the artist.

The curators of the exhibition in Washington are Gretchen Hirschauer, associate curator of Italian and Spanish paintings, National Gallery of Art; and Dennis Geronimus, associate professor of Italian Renaissance art history, New York University; assisted by Virginia Brilliant, The Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida; and Elizabeth Walmsley, painting conservator, National Gallery of Art. At the Uffizi, the curators include Daniela Parenti, head of the department of medieval to quattrocento art, Uffizi; Serena Padovani, former director, Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti; and independent scholar Elena Capretti, under the guidance of Uffizi director Antonio Natali.

Mauro Pallotta, Super Pope.

LONDON - Only one year of activity and Le Dame is already an established contemporary art gallery in London’s thriving art scene. Specialised in Italian contemporary art, they have brought to the UK names such as Dino Maccini, Fabio Mariani, Paolo Cenedese as well as discovered young talent such as the recently exhibited Riccardo Girardi.

Today Le Dame are proud to announce that they will be exclusively representing in the UK world famous artist Mauro Pallotta aka MauPal.

He's currently in every big International newspaper from the Washington Post to Yahoo News International, The Chicago Tribune and France's Le Monde to name a few. In August his works will be displayed on maxi screens in Seoul during Pope Francis' visit of South Korea. But who exactly is the man who aggrandized the image of a humble and beloved Pope Francis, into a modern day caped crusading hero? Mauro Palotta, aka MauPal is a lively and exciting Italian artist who captures viewer's attention through his range of mediums and themes. 

Unlike the typified mediums of oil on canvas, MauPal is the sort of creative mind that utilises artistic potential in the everyday object and this is revealed in his portraiture. Initially appearing as conventional portrait painting, his canvases hold powerful three-dimensional capabilities and surprise viewers with their unusual use of textures and mediums. Predominantly using acrylic spray on wool steel, MauPal's artwork also holds strong social and political value. Portraits such as 'Islam' and 'Hitchcock' represent the artist's temperament and sensibility as he draws on the topics of religion and mainstream culture.

The artwork that launched MauPal's prominence was his giant street painting of Pope Francis, positioned at a side road, just steps away from the Vatican. Now finally, MauPal's 'Pope Francis' will be flying to London, to be exhibited for the first time at Le Dame art gallery. To accompany his 'Pope Francis' mural, the artist's choice to exhibit in London holds particular relevance, as his next big painting will pay homage to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Burgeoning into one of the great art hubs of London, the Melia White House Hotel will also be previewing three of MauPal's paintings during their Contemporary Art exhibition at the Level Lounge and the collection will also include his celebrated portrait of Alfred Hitchcock. In the aftermath of his extraordinary street mural of 'Pope Francis', this exhibition in the hotel's luxury VIP lounge will provide a glimpse into the mind of an artist who is fast growing in stature and reputation.

From Hitchcock, to the Pope and now to the Queen of England, have your say on which big icon you would like to see MauPal next explore!

Mauro Pallotta, The Queen.

Mauro Pallotta, Alfred Hitchcock.

Mauro Pallotta, Liliana as Salvador Dali.

Mauro Pallotta, Liliana as Hitler.

Mauro Pallotta, Liliana as Bob Marley.

Mauro Pallotta, Liliana as Benito Mussolini.

Mauro Pallotta, Abramo.

Mauro Pallotta, La Nuova China work in progress part 2

Mauro Pallotta, La Nuova China work in progress part 3

Marc Quinn, Wilder Shores of Desire, 2011. Courtesy Private Collection. Photo Jonty Wilde. 

WAKEFIELD.- This summer, Yorkshire Sculpture Park presents the work of Marc Quinn, one of the leading artists of his generation, in the Formal Garden. Quinn’s Cybernetically Engineered Cloned and Grown Rabbit, 2004 and Wilder Shores of Desire, 2011, are shown alongside work by fellow Young British Artist Tracey Emin. 

Quinn's sculptures demonstrate his interest in the relationship between the natural, the artificial and mutated. Appropriately, in the context of YSP, Cybernetically Engineered Cloned and Grown Rabbit and Wilder Shores of Desire are sited in a man-made landscape that was conceived as a pleasure ground in the 18th century, overlooking an exotic vista of imported plants and trees. 

Marc Quinn says: “I’m interested in nature but also the interaction between culture and nature, our mediated relationship to nature and what’s natural.” 

Important works by Quinn include Self, a series of self-portraits begun in 1991 made from eight pints of the artist’s own blood drawn over a period of months, and Garden, 2000, comprising plants held in cryogenic suspension. 

Quinn, along with Emin, is one of a number of leading artists known under the collective term Young British Artists (YBA). Launched by the Damien Hirst-organised exhibition Freeze in 1988 and coming to prominence in the 1990s, the YBAs were a group who gained notoriety through their anti-establishment and provocative works and the highly controversial exhibition from Charles Saatchi’s collection: Sensation at the Royal Academy in 1997. 

The display in the Formal Garden continues YSP's commitment to sharing the best of sculpture practice. It forms part of an extensive open air exhibition programme that traces the evolution of sculpture from the modern period, with monumental bronzes by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore; through the new generation of artists such as Anthony Caro, minimalism of Sol LeWitt, Land Art interventions by James Turrell, Andy Goldsworthy and David Nash; to present day explorations of form, material and process. 

Marc Quinn is one of the leading artists of his generation who came to prominence in 1991 with his sculpture Self (1991). Other critically acclaimed works include Alison Lapper Pregnant (2005), a fifteen-ton marble statue of Alison Lapper - a pregnant disabled woman - exhibited on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square in London, and Siren (2008) a solid gold sculpture of the model Kate Moss that was on display at The British Museum, London. He has shown internationally in museums and galleries including Tate Gallery, London (1995), Fondazione Prada, Milan (2000), Institut Océanographique, Monaco (2012), Fondazioni Georgio Cini (2013) and White Cube, Hong Kong (2013/14). Throughout his work, Quinn draws on ideas and themes relating to the human body. Other key subjects include cycles of growth and evolution through topical issues such as genetics and the manipulation of DNA, as well as issues of life and death and identity. Quinn’s work uses a broad range of materials, both traditional and untraditional. The materiality of the object, in both its elemental composition and surface appearance, is at the heart of Quinn’s work. 

Marc Quinn, Cybernetically Engineered Cloned and Grown Rabbit, 2004. Courtesy Private Collection. Photo Jonty Wilde. 

Un vol a été constaté en l'église de Saint-Martin-Valmeroux. Il s'agit du buste reliquaire de saint Martin. Cet objet d'art est inscrit à la liste supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques et il appartient à la commune. S'agissant du saint patron, il revêt une grande importance pour la paroisse. 

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Wall vase of double-gourd shape with flat back, China, Ming dynasty (1368- 1644), Wanli period (1573 - 1619), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, 32.0 x 15.1 x 8.0 cm. Purchased 1988, 301.1988. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

By the Wanli period, the imperial palace in Beijing was not as prescriptive about designs as it had been in the past, and there was a decrease in imperial orders as the court was distracted by more pressing political matters. Potters had to find new markets, so designs changed and new styles emerged. The literati were keen customers and would have bought works such as this wall vase with a popular figurative subject of scholars in a garden and the tripod censer in antiquarian style (Acc.no 133.2000).

The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.121.

Dish with dragon swimming among the lotus, China, Ming dynasty (1368- 1644), Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, 4.4 x 21.5 cm. Gift of Florence Marks, Orwell Phillips and Barbara Selby 1980, 192.1980. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Three five-clawed dragons, one in the centre of the interior and two on the exterior surface decorate this elegant plate. With their mouths closed, the elongated dragons swim amongst the water lotus and lake plants. The lotus is a symbol of purity and perfection both in traditional Chinese literati culture and Buddhist art. The serene dragons, the lotus and the band of calm water lapping the interior rim together present a fresh and placid scene quite distinct from dragons contesting for pearls amid the clouds.

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, January 2012

Dish with design of the Three Friends, China, Ming dynasty (1368- 1644), Jiajing mark and period (1522 - 1566), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, 3.2 x 17.6 cm. Gift of Florence Marks, Orwell Phillips and Barbara Selby 1980, 193.1980. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

The Jiajing emperor was a faithful disciple of Daoism. The imperial partiality sparked a wave of enthusiasm for Daoist religion throughout the empire, and set a fashion in the decorative arts. Motifs relating to Daoism were most favourably employed in the decoration of ceramics as seen in this dish decorated in a rich blue with the motif of the Three Friends (prunus, pine and bamboo). The Three Friends are symbolic of independence, endurance and integrity. This new type of bright, strong blue was made from cobalt known as Mohammedan blue.

The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.121.

Stem cup with design of eight Buddhist emblems, China, Ming dynasty (1368- 1644), Xuande period (1426-1435), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, 10.0 x 11.9 cm. Purchased 1979, 464.1979. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Emperor Xuande ascended the throne of China in 1426: his reign is celebrated amongst Chinese connoisseurs for the superior quality of its porcelains, bronzes and lacquers. Xuande himself reportedly took a personal interest in the 58 kilns at Jingdezhen which were occupied with filling the Imperial orders for porcelain, and the blue and white porcelain of this period is considered the finest ever made. The style and decoration of Xuande blue and white was much copied in succeeding reigns.

This stem cup would have been an Imperial ware made for the use of the court. While stem cups were used at the court as either wine vessels or ceremonial cups in Buddhist rituals, during the Xuande period they were almost solely used for Buddhist rituals intended to be placed on an altar before the image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva and filled with clear water. The decoration confirms this vessel to have been used in Buddhist rituals - the decoration is the Eight Buddhist emblems resting on lotus blossoms, a Buddhist symbol of purity. The decoration illustrates the 'heaped and piled' effect, the unevenness of colour which results from the heavier application of the underglaze blue in some parts, an effect esteemed by connoisseurs of Chinese ceramics, partly as proof of authenticity.

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, 14 November 1979