Mikimoto's Double Eight necklace is available from the pearl jeweller's New Bond Street Boutique and Harrods Fine Jewellery Room.
Celebrating luck and fortune, Mikimoto's Double Eight collection necklace features 88 perfectly matched cultured Akoya pearls.
The innovative clasp, which is made up of circles to form numerous number eights, means that Mikimoto's 88 necklace can be worn in a multitude of ways.
Yan Pei-Ming, Pope Innocent X no.3, 2013. Oil on canvas, 59 1/10 × 59 1/10 in, 150 × 150 cm. ©2014 Artsy
Yan Pei-Ming, Black Bird I, 2013. Oil on canvas, 11 4/5 × 15 7/10 in, 30 × 40 cm. ©2014 Artsy
Yan Pei-Ming, Black Bird II, 2013. Oil on canvas, 11 4/5 × 15 7/10 in, 30 × 40 cm. ©2014 Artsy
Yan Pei-Ming, Black Bird IX, 2013. Oil on canvas, 11 4/5 × 15 7/10 in, 30 × 40 cm. ©2014 Artsy
Yan Pei-Ming, The Other Bird - F16, 2013. Oil on canvas,, 44 9/10 × 76 4/5 in, 114 × 195 cm. ©2014 Artsy
Contact For Price. Massimo De Carlo. London: 00442072872005 - Milan: 00390270003987
The “Ballerina Butterfly” Brooch (Est. HK$6 – 7 million / US$750,000 – 950,000).
HONG KONG.- Contemporary fine jewelry artist Cindy Chao, globally recognized for her intricate designs of rare, colorful gemstones, has collaborated with actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist Sarah Jessica Parker on a singular jewelry creation. The 2014 Black Label Masterpiece “Ballerina Butterfly” brooch (Est. HK$6 – 7 million / US$750,000 – 950,000), co-designed by Chao and Parker, will be auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale on 7 October. Net proceeds from its sale will benefit the New York City Ballet.
Parker and Chao came to admire each other’s respective work as creative artists during Chao’s 2011 Masterpiece Exhibition in Beijing. Their friendship and mutual respect led to discussions of a potential collaboration. It was decided during the opening of Chao’s boutique in Beijing in 2012, where Parker was an honorary guest, that the pair would combine their creative talents, working together to design a unique jewelry piece for charity.
The Black Label “Ballerina Butterfly” brooch was completed with heart and soul over the course of two years, during which Parker and Chao held several design meetings, reviewed sketches, wax models and gemstones together. Chao began the creation process by building a wax model of the piece, as she does with all of her Black Label Masterpiece creations. The “Ballerina Butterfly” brooch melds together Chao’s craftsmanship as one of the jewelry world’s premier artists along with Parker’s discerning eye for style and design.
The resulting creation is the 2014 Black Label Masterpiece “Ballerina Butterfly” brooch, constructed of a titanium and 18-karat gold body, featuring a cushion-cut fancy brown diamond weighing 26.27 carats, three rough brown diamond slices weighing 47.71 carats in total, three pieces of conch pearls weighing 7.25 carats in total, surrounded by 4,698 diamonds and fancy-colored diamonds weighing 98.09 carats in total, completing the majesty of the Black Label Masterpiece Butterfly. The “Ballerina Butterfly” brooch is inspired by the graceful beauty and elegance of ballet, displaying the sensibility, delicate structure, strength and mellifluous movement exhibited within a ballerina. The brooch can be worn either right-side up or upside-down to create two silhouettes of exceptional splendor.
“Sarah Jessica and I are two very different creative minds sharing the same artistic vision and passion,” expresses Chao. “She truly appreciates the essence and soul of my creations, and I admire her innovative yet classic view on fashion and style. My annual Butterflies carry special meaning for me. Collaborating with Sarah Jessica for a cause we both deeply care for and believe in makes this Ballerina Butterfly all the more special in my heart.” The Black Label Masterpiece Butterflies are one of Chao’s coveted motifs and revered by collectors worldwide. Chao has designed a Black Label Masterpiece Butterfly every year since 2008, symbolizing her metamorphosis as an artist. This year marks the tenth anniversary of CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel, lending great personal meaning to this Black Label Masterpiece Butterfly. The “Ballerina Butterfly” is Chao’s first art jewel collaboration, evoking a sense of infinite creative possibilities, portraying a passion for beauty, shared by both Chao and Parker.
“I have had the great pleasure of knowing Cindy and her work for several years, and it has been an incredibly special experience to collaborate with her,” states Parker. “Cindy’s jewelry designs are true works of art; they capture the eye and imagination in a memorable way. I am so pleased to partner with her on this project, which benefits the wonderful work of the New York City Ballet, an organization that is close to my heart.”
“New York City Ballet is honored to be a part of this wonderful collaboration between Sarah Jessica Parker and Cindy Chao,” said NYCB’s Executive Director Katherine Brown. “As a member of our Board of Directors, Sarah Jessica has created a number of exciting initiatives to both build new audiences and generate philanthropic support. We are thrilled that she and Cindy have chosen to make NYCB the inspiration for and benefactor of the sale of this exquisite“Ballerina Butterfly” brooch.
QUEK Chin Yeow, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and Chairman of International Jewellery, Asia said, "Sotheby's is proud and honored to be part of this exciting project, intertwining bejeweled creativity and the Performance Arts with the world of art auction. In offering this unique‘Ballerina Butterfly Brooch’ in Hong Kong, it undoubtedly becomes a global phenomenon."
The “Ballerina Butterfly” brooch made its debut during Haute Couture week in Paris, July 7-10. It will travel throughout Asia before going to New York, where Chao and Parker will serve as Co-Chairs of the New York City Ballet’s Fall Gala on September 23, 2014. The brooch will then return to Hong Kong in October, prior to the auction.
Cindy Chao and Sarah Jessica Parker wearing the Ballerina Butterfly Brooch..
LaCloche Paris Art Deco Amethyst Buddha Pin. Photo courtesy Bentley & Skinner
A LaCloche Art Deco amethyst buddha pin, the pin comprising a carved amethyst buddha, embellished with rose-cut diamond-set halo, centre and fleur-de-lis base, all set to a platinum mount and pin, signed LaCloche Freres, gross weight 6.6 grams, circa 1920. Price: $14,787.50
Bentley & Skinner. 55 Piccadilly, London, W1J ODX, United Kingdom. +44 (0) 2076 290 651
A white-glazed,bottle vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century. Estimate £3,000 — 5,000 (4,070 - 6,783 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.
the compressed angular body rising from a tall foot to a tall neck with a galleried rim, with raised bands encircling the body and neck, covered overall with a bluish-ivory glaze - 22.4cm., 8 7/8 in.
Provenance: Chait Galleries, New York, 1964.
Collection of Evelyn Annenberh Hall.
Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lot 128.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 13 mai 2015, 11:00 AM
A natural and cultured coloured pearl and diamond necklace. Estimate CHF250,000 – CHF350,000 ($263,094 - $368,331. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.
The single graduated strand composed of forty-two natural pearls and two cultured pearls, measuring approximately 11.5 to 4.3 mm, alternately strung between diamond-set rondelle spacers, to a diamond panel clasp, 42.5cm
Accompanied by report no. 77273 dated 31 October 2014 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that 42 pearls are natural saltwater pearls, 1 is a treated cultured pearl and 1 is a cultured pearl
The property of a noble lady.
Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 13 May 2015, Geneva
A small white-glazed 'mallow flower' dish, Kangxi. Estimate £500 - 800 (€700 - 1,100). Photo: Bonhams.
The dish moulded as a mallow flower, the petals and stamen finely incised, with a foliate rim, all covered in a blue-toned white glaze, the glazed base with an underglaze-blue Precious Object mark. 10.8cm (4 1/4in) diam.
Provenance: Carl Kempe collection no. 1036 (label).
Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 11 May 2015 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE
A single-strand natural pearl and diamond necklace. Estimate CHF115,000 – CHF165,000 ($121,023 - $173,642). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.
Composed of seventy-three graduated natural pearls, measuring approximately 8.6 to 5.2 mm, to the diamond-set foliate clasp, mounted in gold, 49.0 cm
Accompanied by report no. 78303 dated 2 February 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the 73 pearls are natural saltwater pearls
Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 13 May 2015, Geneva
A two-strand natural pearl and diamond necklace. Estimate CHF110,000 – CHF160,000 ($115,761 - $168,380). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.
Composed of seventy-nine and seventy-three natural pearls, measuring approximately 9.4 to 4.4 mm, to the openwork single-cut diamond wavy clasp, mounted in gold, 48.5 cm
Accompanied by report no. 77776 dated 10 December 2014 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the 152 pearls are natural saltwater pearls
Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 13 May 2015, Geneva
A five-strand natural pearl and diamond necklace. Estimate CHF120,000 – CHF150,000 ($126,285 - $157,856). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.
Composed of two rows of a hundred and twenty-six each, two rows of a hundred and twenty-one each and a row of a hundred and fifteen natural pearls, measuring approximately 8.3 to 2.8 mm, to the geometrical brilliant-cut diamond clasp, mounted in gold, shortest row 49.0 cm
Accompanied by report no. 69821 dated 12 September 2013 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the 609 pearls are natural saltwater pearls
Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 13 May 2015, Geneva
A pale celadon-glazed five-spouted vase, Qianlong seal mark and period. Estimate £10,000 — 15,000 (13,565 - 20,348 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.
elegantly potted with the compressed pear-shaped body rising from a low foot to four short tubular necks, flanking a central larger spout, the base with seal mark in underglaze-blue; 17.8cm., 7in.
Notes: Notable for its elegant shape and cool celadon glaze, this vase draws on celebrated porcelain traditions and reinterprets them to result in an engaging piece. Both the form and glaze are reminiscent of multi-spouted vases made at the Longquan kilns during the Song dynasty (960-1279).
Compare a Qianlong mark and period vase of this form, but covered by a guan-type glaze in the Hangzhou Tu Huo Zhai Museum of Antique Ceramics, Hangzhou, included in the exhibition Treasures of Imperial Porcelain, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hangzhou, 2011, cat. no. 68. See also a Yongzheng mark and period vase of this form in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung Porcelain Ware, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 65; and a clair-de-lune glazed example included in the Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 132, and sold in our New York rooms, 4th December 1984, lot 351, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 7th May 2002, lot 506.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 13 mai 2015, 11:00 AM
A carved celadon-glazed 'Lotus' brushpot, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period. Estimate £8,000 — 12,000 (10,852 - 16,278 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.
carved around the slightly waisted cylindrical body with leafy scrolling lotus, covered overall with a pale celadon glaze, the recessed base painted with an artemesia leaf in underglaze-blue - 18.5cm., 7 1/4 in.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 13 mai 2015, 11:00 AM
A pair of natural pearl, moonstone and diamond ear pendants. Estimate CHF100,000 – CHF150,000 ($105,237- $157,856). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.
Each suspending a drop-shaped natural pearl, measuring approximately 10.7-10.2 x 20.3 mm and 11.1-10.1 x 19.6 mm, from an openwork pavé-set diamond and circular-cut diamond collet plaque, centering upon a cabochon moonstone, to the button-shaped natural pearl top, mounted in gold, 6.0 cm
Accompanied by report no. 79281 dated 23 March 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the four pearls are natural saltwater pearls
Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 13 May 2015, Geneva
Abraham van Beyeren, Still Life with Lobster, 1653. Oil on canvas, 125,5 x 105,0 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
MUNICH.- Following the prelude last year, some 50 works of French, Spanish, Italian, Flemish, Dutch and German Baroque painting can now be seen as ‘new neighbours’ in dynamic constellations. Masterpieces by Rubens, Rembrandt and other Baroque masters are being made accessible to the general public once again in this way following the closure of several rooms in the Alte Pinakothek for renovation.
The exhibition addresses four different themes through the juxtaposition of these masterpieces: ‘Nature and Mythology’, ‘Portraits’, ‘Art in Rome around 1600’ and ‘Caravaggism’. One element linking the topics is the pictorial mise-en-scène of the human figure.
An additional common motif shared by the paintings in the first part of the exhibition is the landscape. Whether in the idealised Classical mood of Claude Lorrain or inspired by the pastoral Mediterranean way of life, as in the case of the Dutch who visited Italy, thoroughly different facets found expression in depictions of nature. The countryside and landscapes may also serve as a backdrop: for lovers, biblical and mythological scenes as well as chivalrous Rococo festivities. Daphne, saved from Apollo’s clasp by turning into a laurel tree, renders the close relationship between mythology and nature visible in Poussin’s painting. In portraits, landscapes laid out as a garden of love, underline marriage intentions and emotional ties. Connections between utterly different genres can similarly evolve through the inclusion of nature: Murillo’s street urchins represent genre painting but the fruit they are hawking is equally well to be found in Dutch pronk still lifes too.
François Boucher, Pastoral Landscape, 1741. Oil on canvas, 68,0 x 112,4 cm © Collection HypoVereinsbank, Member of UniCredit.
Nicolas Poussin, Apollo and Daphne, c. 1627. Oil on canvas, 97,2 x 130,9 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Pastry Eaters, c. 1675-82, oil on canvas, 123.6 x 102.0 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
In the second part of the exhibition, the focus is on the true-to-life portrayals of expressive faces by Rembrandt and his pupils. Rembrandt was preoccupied with capturing his own likeness in the most varied of media and did not even shirk from depicting himself as one of the helpers in ‘The Raising of the Cross’. His pupils aspired to equal him: they repeatedly made close studies of the human physiognomy, as in the case here of Ferdinand Bol, Carel Fabritius and Nicolaes Maes.
Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens and Isabella Brant in the Honeysuckle Bower, c. 1609-10. Oil on canvas, 178,0 x 136,5 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait, 1629. Oil on canvas, 15,5 x 12,7 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
The third part concentrates on one centre of art: Italy – and Rome in particular – attracted the most varied of painters over the centuries. Artists such as Bartholomeus Spranger and Adam Elsheimer from the Netherlands and Germany respectively travelled to Italy even before 1600 and examined works from Antiquity as well as contemporary developments. Two contrary movements emerged around 1600 in Rome. Those artists following on from Caravaggio upheld a naturalist understanding of art, transforming mythological, religious but also secular subjects into powerful figures far removed from the everyday world, immersing these in a spotlight-like brilliance. The ideal of classical beauty in a balanced composition was propagated by another movement, with Guido Reni as one of its protagonists. The legacy of Ancient Rome influenced some artists their whole life – even in the late works of Peter Paul Rubens reminders of Antiquity can still be found.
Adam Elsheimer, The Flight into Egypt, 1609. Copper, 31,0 x 41,0 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, 1618. Oil on canvas, 224,0 x 210,5 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
Alessandro Turchi, Hercules and Omphale, 1620. Oil on canvas, 166,5 x 237,0 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
Gerard van Honthorst, The Debauched Student, 1625. Oil on canvas, 125,0 x 156,0 cm © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek Munich.
Curators: Bernd Ebert, Elisabeth Hipp, Mirjam Neumeister, Andreas Schumacher. From 28.04.2015
An 'ox-blood' glazed bottle vase, Qing Dynasty. Estimate £500 - 800 (€700 - 1,100). Photo: Bonhams.
The globular vase with a tall thin neck, all covered in a finely streaked copper-red glaze, thinning at the mouth rim to a pale hue, the base glazed white. 29cm (11 3/8in) high
Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 11 May 2015 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE
A copper-red glazed bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period. Estimate £1,000 - 1,500 (€1,400 - 2,100). Photo: Bonhams.
Raised on a short footrim, the bowl flaring to a straight rim, the exterior covered in a rich maroon hued glaze, thinning at the rim to white, the interior glazed white. 15.3cm (6in) diam.
Provenance: reputedly acquired in the UK circa 1965-1981.
Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 11 May 2015 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE
A small copper-red glazed bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period. Estimate £800 - 1,200 (€1,100 - 1,700). Photo: Bonhams.
The vessel raised on a short foot rim, rising up to a straight mouth rim, the exterior covered with a liver-red glaze. 10.4cm (4 1/8in) diam.
Provenance: reputedly acquired in the UK circa 1965-1981.
Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 11 May 2015 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE
A pair of copper-red glazed dishes, Yongzheng marks and period. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP (8,139 - 10,852 EUR). Photo Sotheby's
each with shallow rounded sides rising from a tapered foot, covered overall in a rich liver-red glaze, the white base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle. Quantity: 2- 16.5cm., 6½in.
Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 16th November 2001, lot 283.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 13 May 2015, 11:00 AM
